Gardner-Webb Has Five Earn Big South All-Conference Honors
May 08, 2018 | Softball
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Led by Katie Prebble being selected as the Big South Conference Player and Freshman of the Year, Gardner-Webb had five All-Conference selections as announced by the conference on Tuesday afternoon.
In addition to her Player and Freshman of the Year awards, Prebble, a first baseman, was named a First-Team All-Big South Conference member and earned a spot on the All-Freshman team. She's the first player in BSC history to earn both Freshman and Player of the Year honors.
Junior outfielder Andria Booth received First-Team All-Conference honors, while fellow outfielder Kaylee Wacaster was named to the Second-Team All-BSC. Shortstop Katie Stettler was an All-Freshman team member.
Senior pitcher Ashley Wark earned a spot on the Big South Conference All-Academic team.
Below are details on each of the Runnin' Bulldogs' All-Conference selections.
Katie Prebble –– First Baseman – Player and Freshman of the Year, First-Team All-Conference, All-Freshman Team
Prebble is among the top four players nationally in six statistical categories and leads the nation in total bases (145). As a freshman, she had a stellar, record-breaking campaign. Not only did she break the Runnin' Bulldogs single-season home run record (March 10 v. Campbell), but she also set the Big South freshman home run record (April 8 v. Charleston Southern). Prebble won six BSC weekly awards – one Player of the Week honor and five Freshman of the Weeks awards – including three consecutive on March 12th, 19th and 26th. She hit .436 during the regular season with 22 home runs, 69 RBIs and 47 runs scored. Prebble had 19 multi-hit and 21 multi-RBI games and reached base safely in Gardner-Webb's final 25 regular season games.
Andria Booth – Outfielder – First-Team All-Conference
Booth leads the nation in hits with 87 and also broke the school single-season record against Appalachian State. She hit .473 overall the regular season which is currently third among Division I players and leads the Big South. Additionally, she swiped 31 bases, which led the conference and ranks in the top 35 nationally. Booth was named the Big South Player of the Week on March 19th and for the season, she led Gardner-Webb with 25 multi-hit games and was the only Runnin' Bulldog to record an inside the park home run.
Kaylee Wacaster – Outfielder – Second-Team All-Conference
Wacaster hit .341 with 23 extra base hits in 55 games. She had 17 multi-hit games, including twice with four hits in a game. She batted in 45 runs and had 11 multi-RBI games. Against North Carolina A&T and Charleston Southern she recorded at least five RBIs. Her season-high of six runs batted in came in the third game of the series against CSU, which saw Gardner-Webb take the 18-9 victory. Wacaster scored 45 runs and drew 23 walks. She collected 96 total bases and had 21 stolen bases in 23 attempts. In the field, she led the Runnin' Bulldogs with a .988 fielding percentage and just one error.
Katie Stettler –– Shortstop – All-Freshman Team
Stettler hit .306 in 46 games. In conference play, she hit .328 with an on-base percentage of .369 and slugging percentage of .459. For the season, she had nine games with more than two hits and 8 of her 41 hits went for extra bases. She batted in 20 runs, including four in game one of the series against CSU. Her first career home run, a solo shot to left field, came in the seventh inning of that same game. Stettler single handedly accounted for four runs, which was as many as the entire Charleston Southern team. Gardner-Webb won the game, 9-4. During the regular season, Stettler scored 23 runs while collecting 51 total bases. She was successful on 17-of-18 steal attempts.
Ashley Wark – Pitcher – All-Academic Team
Wark led the Runnin' Bulldogs with 16 wins in the circle and 171.1 innings pitched. She made 32 regular season appearances with 30 starts and 19 complete games. Her lone shutout of the year was a 6-0 win against Western Illinois in February. Wark struck out 55 batters and had a 4.82 ERA. In the classroom, she has excelled, posting a 3.62 cumulative GPA as an Exercise Science major. She plans to be a teacher.
The Runnin' Bulldogs will continue their 2018 campaign as the five-seed at the Big South Conference tournament, which begins tomorrow at Radford University. The 'Dogs will face off against No. 4 Campbell University at 12 noon EST. Live stats and streaming links can be found at www.gwusports.com.
In addition to her Player and Freshman of the Year awards, Prebble, a first baseman, was named a First-Team All-Big South Conference member and earned a spot on the All-Freshman team. She's the first player in BSC history to earn both Freshman and Player of the Year honors.
Junior outfielder Andria Booth received First-Team All-Conference honors, while fellow outfielder Kaylee Wacaster was named to the Second-Team All-BSC. Shortstop Katie Stettler was an All-Freshman team member.
Senior pitcher Ashley Wark earned a spot on the Big South Conference All-Academic team.
Below are details on each of the Runnin' Bulldogs' All-Conference selections.
Katie Prebble –– First Baseman – Player and Freshman of the Year, First-Team All-Conference, All-Freshman Team
Prebble is among the top four players nationally in six statistical categories and leads the nation in total bases (145). As a freshman, she had a stellar, record-breaking campaign. Not only did she break the Runnin' Bulldogs single-season home run record (March 10 v. Campbell), but she also set the Big South freshman home run record (April 8 v. Charleston Southern). Prebble won six BSC weekly awards – one Player of the Week honor and five Freshman of the Weeks awards – including three consecutive on March 12th, 19th and 26th. She hit .436 during the regular season with 22 home runs, 69 RBIs and 47 runs scored. Prebble had 19 multi-hit and 21 multi-RBI games and reached base safely in Gardner-Webb's final 25 regular season games.
Andria Booth – Outfielder – First-Team All-Conference
Booth leads the nation in hits with 87 and also broke the school single-season record against Appalachian State. She hit .473 overall the regular season which is currently third among Division I players and leads the Big South. Additionally, she swiped 31 bases, which led the conference and ranks in the top 35 nationally. Booth was named the Big South Player of the Week on March 19th and for the season, she led Gardner-Webb with 25 multi-hit games and was the only Runnin' Bulldog to record an inside the park home run.
Kaylee Wacaster – Outfielder – Second-Team All-Conference
Wacaster hit .341 with 23 extra base hits in 55 games. She had 17 multi-hit games, including twice with four hits in a game. She batted in 45 runs and had 11 multi-RBI games. Against North Carolina A&T and Charleston Southern she recorded at least five RBIs. Her season-high of six runs batted in came in the third game of the series against CSU, which saw Gardner-Webb take the 18-9 victory. Wacaster scored 45 runs and drew 23 walks. She collected 96 total bases and had 21 stolen bases in 23 attempts. In the field, she led the Runnin' Bulldogs with a .988 fielding percentage and just one error.
Katie Stettler –– Shortstop – All-Freshman Team
Stettler hit .306 in 46 games. In conference play, she hit .328 with an on-base percentage of .369 and slugging percentage of .459. For the season, she had nine games with more than two hits and 8 of her 41 hits went for extra bases. She batted in 20 runs, including four in game one of the series against CSU. Her first career home run, a solo shot to left field, came in the seventh inning of that same game. Stettler single handedly accounted for four runs, which was as many as the entire Charleston Southern team. Gardner-Webb won the game, 9-4. During the regular season, Stettler scored 23 runs while collecting 51 total bases. She was successful on 17-of-18 steal attempts.
Ashley Wark – Pitcher – All-Academic Team
Wark led the Runnin' Bulldogs with 16 wins in the circle and 171.1 innings pitched. She made 32 regular season appearances with 30 starts and 19 complete games. Her lone shutout of the year was a 6-0 win against Western Illinois in February. Wark struck out 55 batters and had a 4.82 ERA. In the classroom, she has excelled, posting a 3.62 cumulative GPA as an Exercise Science major. She plans to be a teacher.
The Runnin' Bulldogs will continue their 2018 campaign as the five-seed at the Big South Conference tournament, which begins tomorrow at Radford University. The 'Dogs will face off against No. 4 Campbell University at 12 noon EST. Live stats and streaming links can be found at www.gwusports.com.
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Softball
1B/OF/3B
/ Softball
SS/3B
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball No videos available.
