May 12, 2009

DAHLONEGA, GA – Four North Georgia players have been named to the 2009 Daktronics All-Southeast Region Team announced this afternoon. Leslee Smith and Courtney McGuire earned First-Team honors, while Pilar Harden was named second team, and Sarah Phillips was named the Southeast Region Pitcher of the Year.

The teams are sponsored by Daktronics, Inc., an acknowledged world leader in scoring, timing and programmable display systems for virtually every sport at every level of competition, while the teams were nominated and voted on by the Southeast Region’s Sports Information Directors. Members of the first team are eligible for All-American nominations.

The Southeast Region Pitcher of the year, Sarah Phillips has posted a record of 35-1, winning a national best 32 consecutive games, and posting an earned run average of 1.03. She threw a no-hitter to claim the Regional Championship, claiming MVP honors in the Peach Belt Conference and Southeast Region Tournaments. The sophomore has 230 strikeouts in 232.0 innings and recorded 12 complete-game shutouts.

A First-Team All-Southeast Region performer, Leslee Smith hit .407 with nine home runs and 55 runs batted in. She had an 18-game hitting streak during the season, and had five games with three runs batted in, and a pair of games where she drove in five runs. The junior struckout just 12 times on the season and added 12 doubles and nine home runs to her 61 hits. Smith was fifth in the conference in total bases with 100, and had an on base percentage of .456 and a slugging percentage of .667.

A First-Team All-Southeast Region performer, Courtney McGuire was third in the Peach Belt Conference in batting average at .378 with a league-leading 11 home runs in 2009. The junior scored a PBC best 57 runs, while adding 45 runs batted in to rank second in the conference. McGuire was also second in the league in triples with four, and coaxed 25 walks, while adding 56 hits, including 11 doubles. She had three different six-game hitting streaks during the season, and had a trio of three-hit games, while recording multiple hit games on 16 different occasions. She had back-to-back games with four runs batted in, and was named the Peach Belt Conference Player of the Week during the season. McGuire sported an on base percentage of .469, and had a slugging perentage of .730. She was also second in the Peach Belt Conference in total bases with 108.

A Second-Team All-Southeast Region performer, Pilar Harden hit .373 on the season to rank ninth in the Peach Belt Conference, while finishing fifth in the league in runs batted in with 38. She was fifth in the PBC with 94 total bases, and was a perfect 9-9 in stolen base attempts. As a true freshman, Harden has played and started in all 49 games for the Saints, recording an on base percentage of .400, while adding a slugging percentage of .595. She had 13 doubles, two triples, and six home runs in her 59 total hits.

 

Daktronics Softball All-Southeast Region

Pitcher of the Year
Sarah Phillips, North Georgia
Player of the Year
Sherquita Bostick, Georgia College

First Team

Catcher
Jessica Strickland, USC Aiken
First Base
Ashley Seawell, Mars Hill
Second Base
Kat Hammond, Newberry
Third Base
Katie Knapp, Erskine
Shortstop
Jesse Howard, Carson-Newman
Utility
Debra Grijalva, Wingate
Designated Player
Leslee Smith, North Georgia
Outfield
Sherquita Bostick, Georgia College
Courtney McGuire, North Georgia
Jasmine Dobbin, St. Andrews Presbyterian
Pitchers
Sarah Phillips, North Georgia
Toni Flessate, USC Aiken
Mandy Chandler, Georgia College

 

Second Team

Catcher
Sarah Atkins, Lenoir-Rhyne
First Base
Sarah Little, Carson-Newman
Second Base
Allie Marshall, Catawba
Third Base
Hallie Pettigrew, Wingate
Shortstop
Ashley Harber, Mars Hill
Utility
Noel Belk, Lenoir-Rhyne
Designated Player
Amanda Huckstein, Newberry
Outfield
LaRonda McClain, Wingate
Jessica McFadden, Barton
Pilar Harden, North Georgia
Pitchers
Amanda Huckestein, Newberry
Brittany Blankenship, Wingate
Michaela Wolf, Francis Marion
Stephanie Templeton, Carson-Newman