August 27, 2010

GREENSBORO, N.C. – UNCG's softball team recently unveiled its team awards for the 2010 campaign at its annual Rookie Brunch, coach Jennifer Herzig announced Friday.

Alex Emeterio took the award for Most Outstanding Offense, Kristen Gabel for Most Outstanding Defense, Amber Harrell for Most Outstanding Pitcher and Kaitlin Merkt for Most Valuable Player at the brunch, which was held Sunday.

Emeterio hit a team-best .382 on the year, slugging a team-high .555 with five homers and 32 RBI. She was a first-team NFCA All-Mideast Region selection, a first-team All-Southern Conference pick and an NCCSIA All-State selection at first base. The Murietta, Calif., native was also the SoCon Player of the Week on April 26 and was named to the SoCon All-Tournament team after hitting .500 in four games at the Southern Conference Championship. Her .382 average was the sixth-best single-season mark in school history and boosted her career average to .355, the third-best in school history.

Gabel turned in a .960 fielding percentage on the season, making just two errors on the year. UNCG's starting center fielder, Gabel had a pair of assists, nailing runners at the plate against St. Joseph's and Akron. The Port Neches, Texas, native had an outstanding showing at the SoCon Championship, particularly against Georgia Southern. She had two hits in the game, including an RBI single in the seventh inning of a 2-1 win, and made outstanding leaping grab to rob GSU of an extra-base hit.

Harrell, a McDonough, Ga., native, was the MVP of the SoCon tournament, going 2-1 with a 1.47 ERA in four appearances, including falling one out shy of no-hitting top-seeded Chattanooga in the first round. For the season, Harrell was 15-15 with a 2.74 with 214 strikeouts, the second-most in a single season in school history. She finished her career as UNCG's career leader in strikeouts, becoming the only player in school history to surpass 600. Harrell finished her career with 657.

After getting off to a slow start to the season, Merkt had a resurgent second half, hitting .355 with 11 home runs and 36 RBI in her last 35 games. She finished the season with a .268 batting average with those 11 home runs and 38 RBI, both career highs and team highs. The Irvine, Calif., native was named the SoCon Player of the Week on May 10 after hitting .556 with three homers and seven RBI in a three-game set at Samford. She also moved into fourth place in school history with 23 career home runs. Her 11 homers on the season tied for the fourth-most in a single season in school history.

The quartet helped the Spartans to a 27-30 overall record and a 12-11 mark in the SoCon, UNCG's first winning league record since 2003.

- UNCG -