Bulldogs Add Two More To Stellar Recruiting Class
May 01, 2008 | Softball
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – The Gardner-Webb athletics department, in conjunction with head softball coach Tom Cole, has announced the signing of two more student-athletes to National Letters of Intent.
Lindsea Hutchinson and Jane Savage signed NLI's and will join Kara Buchanan, Melinda Dulkowski and Mckenzie Morenus on campus in the fall of 2008.
Hutchinson, a right-hander from Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, attended Fleetwood Park Secondary. A 5-6 center fielder and pitcher on the White Rock Renegades club team, Hutchinson batted .375 her junior campaign and .390 her senior season. Hutchinson was a Provincial Top 17 player her junior campaign and was ranked as a top-25 participant at the NFCA Valley Invitational in Portland, Oregon. As a senior, she also led the team with a 2.00 ERA while also amassing a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage to lead the squad. On the base paths, she swiped nine bases without being caught stealing.
Hutchinson guided her 2007 team to the region championships while also helping the team win gold at the Lady Hawks U18 Tournament in Seattle, Washington. In 2006, she led her team to the bronze medal at the Canada Cup International Tournament. The 2005 season was a big year for Hutchinson and her team as it claimed first place at the B.C. softball provincials, where she was the MVP and winning pitcher. The team also won the Starfire Junior Olympic Pacific Challenge Series Qualifier in Seattle. Hutchinson and her squad added a silver medal to the mantle place by taking second at the ASA Tournament – Junior Olympic Pacific Challenge Series – in Sacramento, California. At the tournament, she led the team in batting.
A five-year honor roll student, Hutchinson won multiple awards for her creative writing and poetry.
Savage comes to Gardner-Webb from Marietta, Ga. She is a 5-0 outfielder from Marietta High School. Savage amassed a .365 average over her four years of high school. Her high batting average allowed her to get on base enough to shatter the school record for stolen bases. She was also honored as an outstanding center fielder with a record fielding percentage. In 2008, she was honored as an all-region pick for Marietta, which is a Class 5-A program. Savage also garnered all-county recognition.
In nine years of travel ball, Savage played for the West Cobb X-plosion from 1999-2007 and with the Roswell Orange Crush in 2008. She was a two-time MVP for her squad while also winning the award for best overall player and for being the Offensive Player of the Year. Savage guided her teams to a .650 winning percentage in nine years, leading the squad to nationals on two occasions. She also helped the team reach the regionals and state finals numerous times.
At Marietta High School, she was on the principle's honor roll all four years while also picking up the scholar-athlete award and will graduate with high honors.
The class that enters Gardner-Webb this fall will play all four
years in the Big South Conference, as the Bulldogs make the change
from the Atlantic Sun Conference this summer.
