 |  |
Merkt, Emeterio earn Southern Conference postseason honors
SPARTANBURG, SC – Two UNC Greensboro student-athletes earned postseason Southern Conference honors, as Kaitlin Merkt was named second team all-conference and Alex Emeterio was named to the inaugural all-freshman team, the league office announced Tuesday.
The awards are voted on by the league's nine head coaches.
Merkt, a redshirt sophomore shortstop, leads the Spartans with a .333 average, a .611 slugging percentage and six home runs despite missing 18 games with injury. The Irvine, CA, native has matched or exceeded her career highs in virtually every offensive category this season, including average, slugging percentage, home runs, on-base percentage (.394), RBI (18), runs (12) and hits (30). She also has a career-best fielding percentage of .973, having committed just three errors in 111 chances. Merkt has seven multi-hit games and four multi-RBI games and has moved into UNCG's career top 10 in home runs this season. She hit .375 in nine league games and hit her first career grand slam Thursday against Virginia Tech. The all-conference honor is the first of Merkt's career.
Emeterio, who has seen time at both first base and designated player, is one of the top-hitting freshmen in the SoCon. She finished the regular season with a .321 batting average, second on the UNCG squad, and leads the Spartans or shares the team lead with a .436 on-base percentage, 50 hits, 23 RBI and two triples. The Murrieta, CA, native has also drawn a team-high 31 walks on the season, the fifth-best single-season mark in school history. Emeterio has 12 multi-hit games and seven multi-RBI games, both team highs. Her 10 doubles and .468 slugging percentage are second on the squad.
The Spartans (24-31, 9-12 SoCon) are the sixth seed in the SoCon tournament, which opens Wednesday in Chattanooga, TN. UNCG will face No. 3 seed Appalachian State on Wednesday at 2 p.m.
All-Southern Conference
First Team
P: Brianna Streetmon, Georgia Southern
P: Kayla Richardson, Appalachian State
C: Abby Robertson, Furman
1B: Michelle Fuzzard, Chattanooga
2B: Tiffany Baker, Chattanooga
SS: Nina Iduate, Georgia Southern
3B: Kristie Shifflett, College of Charleston
OF: Lyndsey Stiles, Chattanooga
OF: Katie Forbes, College of Charleston
OF: Marie Fogle, Georgia Southern
DP: Mollie Fowler, Western Carolina
UT: Megen Smith, Georgia Southern
Second Team
P: Michelle Fuzzard, Chattanooga
P: Lana Mackey, Furman
C: Michelle Lighton, Appalachian State
C: Brittany Eason, Chattanooga
1B: Sam Russo, Georgia Southern
2B: Amber Shifflett, College of Charleston
SS: Kaitlin Merkt, UNC Greensboro
3B: Katie Boyd, Appalachian State
OF: Kaiti Kelley, Chattanooga
OF: Amanda Hall, Georgia Southern
OF: Stephanie Field, Furman
DP: Shannon Howard, College of Charleston
UT: Robyn Harmon, Samford
All-Freshman
Megan Rembielak, Appalachian State
Katie Forbes, College of Charleston
Stephanie Field, Furman
Hanna Ennis, Georgia Southern
Marie Fogle, Georgia Southern
Alex Emeterio, UNC Greensboro
Robyn Harmon, Samford
Amy Gonzalez, Samford
Jenni Martin, Chattanooga
Chelsea Schaffer, Western Carolina
Player of the Year
Kristie Shifflett, College of Charleston
Pitcher of the Year
Brianna Streetmon, Georgia Southern
Freshman of the Year
Marie Fogle, Georgia Southern
Coach of the Year
Frank Reed, Chattanooga
- UNCG -
