Wednesday, May 09, 2007

May 9, 2007

Wednesday the Atlantic Sun Conference announced the 2007 Softball postseason honors, and four Lady Bisons were awarded honors for their work during the regular season.

Heather Collins, Lauren Dortwegt, Abby Keese, and Kellie Sirus were all awarded postseason honors as voted on by the league's head coaches.

Lady Bison's first baseman, junior Heather Collins, made first team All-Atlantic Sun Conference. By making the first team, Collins is the first Lady Bison to ever win first team honors since the Lady Bisons started competing in the Atlantic Sun Conference in 2002.

Collins, who made second team all-conference along with the all-freshmen team in 2005, was tied for second in the A-Sun in home runs with fellow teammate Abby Keese this season with 14. Collins also ranked sixth in the conference in batting averages with a .370 average for the season.

Freshmen centerfielder Lauren Dortwegt made second team All-Atlantic Sun Conference as well as being honored as a member of the A-Sun All-Freshmen team. A native of Downers, Grove, IL, Dortwegt led the Lady Bisons and tied for third in the conference with 67 hits this season.

The Lady Bisons also placed two other players on the Atlantic Sun All-Freshmen Team. Both Abby Keese and Kellie Sirus made the All-Freshmen team as infielders for the Lady Bisons.

Keese, a freshman from Denver, Colorado, led the Lady Bisons and ranked second in the A-Sun with a .689 slugging percentage. Keese tied Heather Collins for the home run lead with 14 this season. Both Keese and Collins move into eighth place all-time in the Atlantic Sun for home runs in a single season.

Kellie Sirus, from Sarasota, Fla., spent most of her time at third base for the Lady Bisons this season. Sirus tied for the lead on the team in doubles with nine doubles this season. Sirus also hit 10 home runs this season to tie for seventh in the Atlantic Sun conference.

Kennesaw State grabbed three out of the top four individual honors in the Atlantic Sun this season. Senior Keri Mckee claimed the Atlantic Sun's Player of the Year honor this season. Fellow teammate Brittany Matthews was named Atlantic Sun Pitcher of the Year, while Kennesaw State's head coach Scott Whitlock was awarded his first A-Sun Coach of the Year honor. University of North Florida's Devyn Findley captured Atlantic Sun Freshman of the Year.

The Lady Bisons open up play in the 2007 Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament on Thursday, May 10. The Lady Bisons play in game one against ETSU in Deland, Florida with the game time set for 8:00 a.m. CT.

For a complete list of the 2007 postseason honors, click here:

2007 A-Sun Softball Postseason Honors and Awards

2007 Lady Bison Postseason Profiles

Heather Collins,1st Team All-Atlantic Sun Conference

• Ranked sixth in the Atlantic Sun in batting averages with an average of .370.
• Finished tied for second in the Atlantic Sun in home runs with 14 this season, and is tied for eighth all-time in Atlantic Sun history for home runs in a single season.
• Was second in the conference in RBI's with 53 RBI's in 52 games.
• Had a slugging percentage of .679 which was third in the Atlantic Sun.
• Fifth in the Atlantic Sun in total bases with 110 for the season.
• Started all 52 games this season for the Lady Bisons.
• Led the Lady Bisons in seven statistical categories this season including, Batting average (.370), On base percentage (.443), Runs batted in (53), Home runs-tied for first (14), Total bases (110), Walks (16), and Hit by pitches (6).

Lauren Dortwegt,2nd Team All-Atlantic Sun Conference and Atlantic Sun All-Freshmen Team

• Ranked eighth in the Atlantic Sun in batting average with an average of .364.
• Was tied for third in the Atlantic Sun in hits with 67 hits this season.
• Was first on the team and ranked ninth in the Atlantic Sun in runs scored this season with 37.
• Stole 12 bases on 14 attempts this season.
• Led the team in multiple hit games this season with 22, and had a season high four hits against MTSU.
• Had a seven game hitting streak this season.
• Started all 52 games this season for the Lady Bisons in centerfield.
• Led the Lady Bisons in five statistical categories including, Runs scored (37), Hits (67), Triples-tied for first (2), Total plate appearances (200), and At bats (184).

Abby Keese,Atlantic Sun All-Freshmen Team

• Finished tied for second in the Atlantic Sun in home runs with 14 this season, and is tied for eighth all-time in Atlantic Sun history for home runs in a single season with teammate Heather Collins.
• Ranked second in the conference with a .689 slugging percentage.
• Ranked tenth in the Atlantic Sun in RBI's with 37 RBI's in 51 games.
• Ranked seventh in the Atlantic Sun in total bases with 104 for the season.
• Had an on base percentage of .406 which ranked ninth in the conference.
• Tied for the lead on the team for home runs with Heather Collins.
• Ranked in the top five in 15 different statistical categories for the Lady Bisons this season.
• Third on the team with 10 multi-RBI games.
• Posted 13 multi-hit games, and had an eight game hitting streak which was second longest on the team this season.

Kellie Sirus,Atlantic Sun All-Freshmen Team

• Finished tied for seventh in the Atlantic Sun in home runs with 10 this season.
• Ranked fifth in the Atlantic Sun in RBI's with 44 RBI's in 51 games.
• Started 51 games for the Lady Bisons this season.
• Tied for the lead in doubles for the Lady Bisons with nine this season.
• Ranked in the top five in 13 different statistical categories for the Lady Bisons this season.
• Had a seven game hitting streak this season, along with two other six game hitting streaks.
• Posted 16 multi-hit games this season.