Meenaghan Tabbed Freshman of the Year, as Four Runnin' Bulldogs Earn All-Conference Awards
May 12, 2011 | Softball
Charlotte, N.C. - The Gardner-Webb softball team had four student-athletes receive Big South All-Conference recognition on Wednesday night, as Samantha Meenaghan, Melinda Dulkowski and Morgan Baker were all named to the First-Team All-Conference, while junior Jane Savage was named to the All-Academic Team. Meenaghan was also tabbed the Big South Freshman of the Year.
Meenaghan, the 2011 Big South Freshman of the Year, received first-team all-conference recognition at the utility spot, as she saw time at second-base, third-base, first-base and designated player throughout the season. The freshman from Atlantic Beach, Florida, started and played in all 42 games, leading the team with a .340 batting average and 16 stolen bases on the season. In Big South conference play, Meenaghan posted a team-high .348 batting average, which ranked 10th overall in the Big South. The GWU lead-off hitter posted a team-high 50 hits, 23 of which came in conference action, and scored a team-high 24 runs on the season, while also leading the Runnin' Bulldogs with 14 multi-hit games.
Joining Meenaghan on the all-conference first-team is Dulkowski and Baker, who both missed last season due to injuries.
Dulkowski earned a spot on the first-team all-conference team in the outfield, as she started and played in all 42 games for GWU in centerfield. The redshirt-sophomore from Port St. Lucie, Florida, led the team with 10 sacrifice bunts and was second on the team with a .321 batting average for the year. Like Meenaghan, Dulkowski was even harder to get out in conference play, as she batted .333 over 18 conference games. Dulkowski, who scored 17 runs and drove in 11 RBIs, recorded nine stolen bases and posted eight multi-hit games on the year. In the field, Dulkowski posted a .967 fielding percentage overall, totaling 55 putouts and four outfield assists, a team-high.
Baker was tabbed first-team all-conference at first base, where she played the final 29 games of the season. Baker, who missed most of last year with a back injury, started and played in all 42 games for GWU this season, where she was second on the team with a .443 slugging percentage, second with three home runs and second with 19 RBIs. The redshirt-freshman from Louisville, Kentucky, led GWU with 20 walks on the season, as she hit .287 overall on the year. Baker, who posted a .968 fielding percentage in the field, tallied nine total multi-hit games and three multi-RBI games for the Runnin' Bulldogs during the regular season.
Earning a spot on the Big South All-Academic Team was Savage, who has posted a perfect 4.00 cumulative grade point average while working toward her degree in English at Gardner-Webb University. On the field, Savage played in 37 games, starting 36 in the outfield for GWU where she made the transition from centerfield to right field this season. The junior from Marietta, Georgia, hit .230 on the season with 23 hits, 10 RBIs and seven runs scored, yet was patient at the plate with a total of 11 base-on-balls. Savage, who was 3-of-5 in the stolen base department for the year, was solid in the field as she posted a .974 fielding percentage, collecting 34 putouts and tallying three outfield assists.
The three first-team all-conference selections is the most that Gardner-Webb has had since joining the Big South Conference in the 2008-09 season, while Meenaghan is the first Runnin' Bulldog to receive Freshman of the Year honors since GWU moved to NCAA Division I in 2000-01.
Meenaghan's selection this year marks the third straight season in which GWU has had a player receive Big South First-Team All-Conference recognition at the utility spot following McKenzie Morenus in 2010 and Kelsey Witter in 2009, while Baker's recognition at first-base marks the third straight year GWU has had the Big South First-Team All-Conference first-baseman, as Christa Fullwood earned that spot in both 2010 and 2009.
Gardner-Webb is the No. 6 seed in this week's 2011 Big South Softball Championship presented by Musco Sports Lighting and will take on the No. 3seeded Presbyterian College Blue Hose in the first round on Thursday, May 12th, at 10 a.m.
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2011 Big South Conference Softball Award Winners
First-Team All-Conference
OF: Tera Powell, Presbyterian College
OF: Melinda Dulkowski, Gardner-Webb
OF: Codee Yeske, Presbyterian College
1B: Morgan Baker, Gardner-Webb
2B: Nichole Beall, Radford
SS: Megan Lombard, Charleston Southern
3B: Ashley Bensinger, Liberty
C: Keely McMillon, Liberty
DP: Chelsey Schoenfeldt, Winthrop
UT: Samantha Meenaghan, Gardner-Webb
P: Jackie Jenkins, Radford
P: Leslie Hensley, Presbyterian College
Second Team All-Conference
OF: Jana Matthews, Charleston Southern
OF: Amber DePasquale, Liberty
OF: Veronica Berrie, Winthrop
1B: Kaylee West, Liberty (tie)
Kathryn Eberlin, Winthrop (tie)
2B: Kelly Strickland, Liberty
SS: Megan Chapman, Winthrop
3B: Jessica Brock, Charleston Southern
C: Erin Kegley, Charleston Southern (tie)
Chelsea Pineda, Coastal Carolina (tie)
DP: Stephanie Sbardella, Charleston Southern
UT: Taylor Cunningham, Radford
P: Katrina Johnson, Liberty
P: Stephanie Dameron, Radford
Academic All-Conference
Chelsea Kelley, Radford
Erin Kegley, Charleston Southern
Katrina Johnson, Liberty
Jane Savage, Gardner-Webb
Leslie Hensley, Presbyterian College
Kelly Blea, Winthrop
Sarah Maples, Coastal Carolina
Player of the Year
Kelly Strickland Liberty
Nichole Beall, Radford
Pitcher of the Year
Jackie Jenkins, Radford
Freshman of the Year
Samantha Meenaghan, Gardner-Webb
Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Chelsea Kelley, Radford
Coach of the Year
Mickey Dean, Radford
