SCHWARZ, JETER GARNER FIRST TEAM ALL-SOUTHLAND HONORS FOR ISLANDERS

Caley Jeter was named the Southland Conference's First Team All-Southland second baseman while Hannah Schwarz garnered both First Team All-Southland in the outfield and the Newcomer of the Year award from the league on Tuesday.

The pair of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi players were just two of the seven team members that received recognition for the conference as member of the All-Southland Teams.

In addition to the two first team players, the Islanders placed Brittany Tucker at catcher, Cassie Redman in the outfield and Margo Hurdt at designated player on the second team. Lauren Dodson was named honorable mention at shortstop while Kacie Smith received the same honor at third base.

Schwarz was one of many players that made an instant impact in the conference this year for the Islanders. The center fielder for the Islanders won the league batting title with a .416 batting average, 33 points better than the second place hitter and was the only player in the league to bat over .400 this season. She was also a threat on the base paths, stealing 20 bases, fifth-most in the Southland. Her on-base percentage was also one of the best in the league at .468, good enough for second in the conference as an individual.

In addition to her first team honor, Schwarz was named the Newcomer of the Year, the second Islander to ever win the award after former Islander Kim Connelly won the award in 2008.

Jeter made the team at second base and was far-and-away the best in the entire Southland at getting on base. She held an astonishing .527 on-base percentage, 59 points better than Schwarz who had the second-best individual mark in the league and 72 points better than the person in third. She was third in the conference in hitting as well with a .378 batting average and drove in 31 runs this season. Jeter was also a perfect 13-for-13 in stolen base attempts.

"Anytime you lead the league in hitting and on-base percentage, you should be on the first team and that's Hannah and Caley," said head coach Jake Schumann. "Obviously they are at the top of our order and are a big part of us scoring over 300 runs this year.

"Both are exceptional young players that have a bright future in this program and they will keep working hard and keep getting better."

Tucker made her way onto the second team after hitting over .300 on the season and throwing out more base runners than stolen bases allowed. She also tied for the team lead in RBI with 38 and set a new school record with 11 home runs during the year. She threw out 22 runners, tops in the Southland, while allowing just 21 stolen bases, the lowest total in the conference among starting catchers.

"I'm a little disappointed about Brittany being on the second team, I thought for sure she was the best catcher in our conference," said Schumann. "I've said all along that I thought she was probably one of the top five catchers in the country but she didn't hit as well as we would have liked in conference games and that's what a lot of coaches vote on."

Redman finished the season seventh in the Southland with a .357 batting average with 25 RBI, fifth-highest on the team. She was also second on the team in stolen bases, going 15-for-16 in attempts during the year.

"Cassie Redman is just getting better since the day she stepped on campus, "said Schumann. "Being only a sophomore, she has a lot of time to keep getting better and improving her overall production on this team."

The final second team player is Hurdt, a senior designated player from Boerne. She tied for the team lead in RBI with Tucker at 38 and had the second-most home runs with nine on the season. She was the emotional leader for the team and the only four-year player left from before Jake Schumann took over the program. She set an example for all Islander players while being a fierce competitor both in the batter's box and in the pitchers' circle. In addition to her offensive numbers, she had a 5-2 record as a pitcher and picked up crucial wins on the way to qualifying for the conference tournament.

"Margo deserved her all-conference recognition," said Schumann. "She saved the best year of her for last."

Dodson garners an honorable mention nod at the shortstop position after hitting .299 with 31 RBI this season while committing just 10 errors at the toughest infield position to play while finishing with the most assists in the league. Defensively strong all season, she came on late offensively with 15 RBI over the last 11 games of the year.

Smith also was a big part of the Islanders success as she manned the third base position on the left side of the infield. She was right behind Dodson with 129 assists, second-most in the league, and hit .314 during the year as she also recorded 21 RBI and had four home runs.

"Kacie and Lauren both worked really hard, those are tough positions in our conference to get first team and I thought they did really well," said Schumann. "Both hit over .300 and were highly productive on our team.

"Maybe a little underrated but as the No. 5 seed, you can't have nine first team all-conference kids and we are very happy that seven of them were recognized for their season accomplishments."

The Islanders continue on into the postseason this Thursday when they play McNeese State at 11 AM in the first game of the Southland Conference Tournament. The league tourney is being held in San Marcos on the campus of Texas State.

2010 All-Southland Conference Softball Teams

²Two-time all-conference selection

³Three-time all-conference selection

Honorable Mention - First Base: Heather Mosser, McNeese State; Second Base: Anna Hernandez, Texas State; Third Base: Dani Price, McNeese State; Kacie Smith, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi; Shortstop: Hailey Wiginton, Sam Houston State; Lauren Dodson, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi; Catcher: Whitney Corbello, McNeese State; Meghan Gomez, Southeastern Louisiana;Designated Player: McKenzie Baack, Texas State; Outfield: Claire Terracina, McNeese State; Jordan Logan, Southeastern Louisiana; Rudi Cantu, UTSA; Pitcher: Kelsie Armstrong, Central Arkansas; Morgan Mikulin, Sam Houston State.

Individual Awards

Player of the Year: Kendal Harper, Stephen F. Austin

Hitter of the Year: Kayla Gutowski, Stephen F. Austin

Pitcher of the Year: Chandler Hall, Texas State

Freshman of the Year: Teri Lyles, UT Arlington

Newcomer of the Year: Hannah Schwarz, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi

Coach of the Year: Gay McNutt, Stephen F. Austin