SCAC Release

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. â€" The Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Awards and All-Conference softball teams have a distinct Texas Lutheran feel to them after the conference announced the honorees on Friday afternoon.
 
The conference rewarded a dominant TLU season by announcing Ashley Jacobsen was named the SCAC Player of the Year, Taylor Grissom was the conference's Pitcher of the Year and Wade Wilson was the Coach of the Year.
 
After taking three of the four major awards, the Bulldogs weren't done cleaning up postseason honors as the entire TLU starting lineup earned either First or Second Team recognition. The Bulldogs had eight players earn First Team honors, two earn Second Team and one earn Honorable Mention.
 
Taylor Yancey (first base), Jacobsen (second base), Grace Estes (shortstop), Heather Hummel (third base), Jacquelyn Brown (outfield), Moly Gorrie (outfield), Maegan Taylor (utility) and Grissom (pitcher) all earned First Team recognition.
 
Hope Estes (catcher) and Kimberly Leschber (pitcher) earned Second Team honors, while Samantha Yenne (pitcher) earned Honorable Mention.
 
Eight of the 14 First Team spots went to TLU players after the Bulldogs finished 21-1 in conference play, outscoring opponents 194-29 in the process.
 
Jacobsen, a junior second baseman from Marion, Texas, led the SCAC during the regular season with a .489 batting average and also leads the league in on-base percentage (.496), slugging percentage (.664), hits (64), runs scored (39), triples (3) and stolen bases (17). She is third in the league with 11 doubles. Her 64 hits are already the fourth-most in a SCAC single season and her current batting average puts her on pace for the fifth-best season in that category in league history. An ASC All-West Division First Team selection last season, Jacobsen stole 42 bases and scored 59 runs â€" both school records â€" as a sophomore.
 
Jacobsen received six votes in the SCAC Player-of-the-Year balloting, while Trinity catcher Caitlynn Dykes, the 2012 SCAC Player-of-the-Year, received the remaining first-place vote.
 
Grissom, a sophomore right-hander from Spring, Texas, leads the SCAC with a 1.07 ERA, and has compiled a 7-2 record with four shutouts in five complete games, which included a perfect game with a career-high seven strikeouts on March 10 against Austin College. It was just the fifth perfect game in program history. In 58.2 innings of work, Grissom has struck out 35 batters with only 11 walks while holding opponents to a .230 batting average (fourth in the SCAC).
 
Yancey (Magnolia, Texas), a sophomore, led the conference with 39 RBI on the season. She finished the regular season with a .356 batting average and a .627 slugging percentage good enough for second in the conference. She also led the league in RBI (39), while ranking 27th in the country in doubles per game (0.47). Yancey was an All-ASC West Division First Team member as a freshman.
 
Grace Estes (Willis, Texas) is another sophomore who has dominated the SCAC. The shortstop boasted a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage in conference action while also hitting .450 in the SCAC. She ended her year with a .377 average and finished second in the conference with 38 runs scored.
 
Hummel (Houston, Texas) is a newcomer to the TLU program after playing last year at McNeese State. The sophomore finished the season with a .339 average, cranking out eight extra-base hits, including two homers on the year, finishing third on the team with a .589 slugging percentage.
 
Brown (Vidor, Texas) earned All-ASC West Division Second Team honors last season and followed that freshman campaign with a masterful sophomore season. She finished second on the team with a .400 batting average and hit an incredible .474 in conference action.
 
Gorrie (Houston, Texas) is the lone TLU senior to garner a postseason award and she did plenty to earn it. After earning First Team All-ASC West Division honors last season, this year Gorrie hit .398, good for third on the team. She also stole 11 bases and was only caught once.
 
Taylor (Helotes, Texas) is the ultimate utility player, having served time at both third base and left field for the Bulldogs. She raked to the tune of a .359 batting average while crushing nine extra-base hits and driving in 14 runs. She also drew 11 walks, good for second on the team.
 
Hope Estes (Willis, Texas) split time at catcher this season for the Bulldogs and still managed to put up numbers good enough for a Second Team nod. The junior finished the year with a .321 average and 22 RBI.
 
Leschber (Thorndale, Texas) was the other Second Team honoree for the Bulldogs. The transfer from Trinity Valley Community College pitched her way to an 8-2 record and a 2.10 ERA. The junior tossed 50 innings on the year, giving up just 54 hits and 15 earned runs.
 
Yenne (Lake Jackson, Texas) enjoyed a superb freshman campaign, racking up a 7-2 record in the circle with a 2.33 ERA. She struck out a team-high 37 in her 54 innings of work.