Mid-America Christian University announces Nine Softball Standouts Earn All-SAC Recognition
From May 9, 2023 post.
OKLAHOMA CITY – The Sooner Athletic Conference unveiled its 2023 All-Conference Team on Tuesday afternoon as the MACU softball program had nine standout student-athletes earn accolades.
Voted upon by the league's coaches, 20 players from the nine-team league are placed on First Team, 20 on Second Team and 17 garner honorable mention while nine players, one from each team, earn a Gold Glove honor.
Overall, the Evangels landed four players on the First Team and two were tabbed for Second Team accolades while MACU placed a pair on the Honorable Mention list.
Earning First Team honors was redshirt sophomore pitcher Rachel Eggleston, senior outfielder Cailey Parsells, senior third baseman Janessa Larman and sophomore utility player Emylee Campbell. Taking a pair of Second Team spots was senior shortstop Mikaylee Allen and junior pitcher Avery Schneringer.
Getting an honorable mention nod was senior outfielder Rachel Humburg and junior catcher Aurelia Holguin while sophomore outfielder Brooklyn Wilson was named to the Gold Glove Team.
In her second full season, Eggelston has put together one of the best individual seasons for a pitcher in the history of the program. A native of Kiowa, Oklahoma, Eggelston enters postseason play with a 21-6 record in the circle with a 1.43 ERA ERA. Making 28 appearances and 26 starts, she has tossed 15 complete games and seven shutouts, walking just 32 batters and striking out 159 with a .193 opponent batting average.
Eggleston's 21 wins is the current MACU single season record while her seven shutouts are currently tied with Regan Martin (2019) for the most in a year. The 5-8 righty is also on the cusp of breaking a few more single year pitching records, needing just 21 more strikeouts to match Katie Long (2021) while her 1.43 ERA also sits just behind Long (1.22, 2021) and .193 opponent batting average behind Martin (.167, 2018) and Long (.188, 2021) in the books.
Of the awards garnered this season, Eggleston was named the SAC Pitcher of the Week for Week 9 (Apr. 3-9) after tossing a complete-game, nine-inning shutout against No. 9 Science & Arts and a one-run, four-hit victory at Southwestern Christian. Eggleston is collecting All-SAC First Team honors for the second year in a row.
After earning All-SAC Second Team honors last season, Larman is collecting First Team acclaim for the first time in her career. The Choctaw, Oklahoma native leads the Evangels in several offensive categories, including batting average (.362), hits (55), doubles (13), home runs (4), RBIs (47) and slugging percentage (.539).
The 5-8 third baseman ranks fourth in the SAC in RBIs while she's hit the fifth-most doubles, holds the 12th best batting average and ranks 16th in slugging percentage. Her RBI total is also climbing up the MACU single season ranks as she needs just two more to tie Hannah Lynch (2014) for third and nine to catch Natalie Bissell (56) for second.
One area of the field that Larman has greatly improved in her second season with the program is her fielding as she ranks as one of the best fielding third basemen in the SAC with a .969 fielding percentage, committing just four errors and leads the team with 92 assists.
Earning her second All-SAC First Team accolade in the last three seasons, Parsells has been one of the most dangerous baserunners in the league this year. The 5-2 outfielder leads the league in stolen bases with 43 and has scored the seventh-most runs with 48. The Oklahoma City product has also drawn the third-most walks in the conference with 26 to sit in fourth in the SAC in on-base percentage at .470.
Holding the team's second-best batting average at .336, Parsells has also driven in 18 from the lead-off position. In a 13-0 win at Southwestern (Kan.) on Mar. 9, the speedy fielder recorded the third-most RBIs in a single game in program history as an inside-the-park grand slam and a two-RBI single gave her six RBIs in a 2-for-3 day from the plate.
Rounding out the first team selections, Campbell has been one of the team's best bats out of the designated player position.
Holding the third-best batting average on the team at .336, the Blanchard, Oklahoma native has smacked four doubles for 15 RBIs and 18 runs to go with 10 stolen bases.
The 5-7 utility player has come up big in clutch situations for the Evangels, including hitting the go-ahead RBI single in the top of the eighth in a 1-0 victory over Hastings (Neb.) at the Red Dirt Classic on Mar. 3. Campbell also executed a perfect bunt single to lead-off the bottom of the ninth to move Karlee Danielson over to third before she was brought home for the walk-off run in the bottom of the ninth on a squeeze play, giving the Evangels the 1-0 win.
Earning Second Team All-SAC for the second straight year, Schneringer has continued to be one of the better pitchers in the conference. Posting a 14-6 record in 23 starts, the Blanchard, Oklahoma product holds the league's sixth-best ERA (2.73) to go with the seventh-most wins.
This season, Schneringer has appeared in 25 games, going the distance in 12 contests and tossing three shutouts while allowing 66 runs, 51 earned with 34 walks and 68 strikeouts over 131 innings of work.
The 5-7 righty's best outing came in a 3-0 win at Central Christian on Apr. 14 as she allowed just five hits and a walk while striking out seven.
Rounding out the All-SAC Second Team, Allen is earning her second straight honor from the league. Allen enters postseason play with a .285 batting average and is one of the best sluggers on the team as she has ripped eight doubles, six triples and a pair of homers for 29 RBIs and 35 runs to go with 28 stolen bases.
The Moore, Oklahoma native put together an incredible doubleheader at No. 9 Science & Arts on Apr. 18, as she helped MACU force extra innings with her game-tying two-run homer in the top of the fifth in a 4-3 defeat before slashing 3-for-4 with a triple and three RBIs in a 10-5 victory over the Drovers in the second game to force a series split.
An honorable mention selection, Humburg has been one of the most consistent bats in the MACU lineup during the 2023 campaign. One of four MACU hitters batting above .300, the Oolagah, Oklahoma native is hitting the fourth-best average at .311 to go with 15 RBIs and 21 runs scored. Humburg has also been getting on-base at a strong clip as her 20 drawn walks have contributed toward a .414 on-base percentage, the 18th-best rate in the SAC.
The 5-8 outfielder's best performances came in a 22-1 win at Southwestern on Mar. 29 when she hit 2-for-2 with three RBIs and three runs while also turning a three-RBI performance in an 8-0 win over Southwestern Assemblies of God on Apr. 22.
Rounding out the honorable mentions and one-half of MACU's starting catcher tandem, Holguin has produced a solid .286 batting average while hitting six doubles and a triple for nine RBIs and 11 runs in just 77 at-bats.
However, the 5-6 stopper from Marlow, Oklahoma has been one of the best defensive catchers in the conference this season, posting a .994 fielding percentage in 177 chances, the best rate for players with more than 100 chances on the team.
Speaking of one of the team's best defenders, Brooklyn Wilson was MACU's selection for the Gold Glove team due to her sparking defensive plays during the 2023 season. This year, Wilson holds a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage on 71 chances and has made four outfield assists, three of which were throw outs at home plate.
One of her biggest assists of the year came in MACU's 1-0 win over Hastings as she converted a 9-2 double play after throwing out the tying run at home plate in the bottom of the eighth.
During the 2023 season, Mid-America Christian put together one of its finest years in program history heading into postseason play as the Evangels have amassed a 36-17 record while recording the program's second 20-plus win season in Sooner Athletic Conference play with a 20-12 league mark.
The Evangels will either be competing in the NAIA Opening Round taking place from May 15-17 or will be competing at the NCCAA World Series for the third straight season in Kansas City from May 16-18.
Original post can be foundhere.