Nine players Named All-MIAA
ROYAL, OAK, Mich. - The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) has announced that Trine University softball senior catcher Sarah Belote (Bronson, Mich./Bronson) has been named the Most Valuable Position Player and senior right-hander Andi Gasco (Levering, Mich./Petoskey) its Most Valuable Pitcher. It is the second straight season the Thunder have swept both MVP honors.
Trine becomes just the third team in MIAA history to have five players named to the All-MIAA First Team, the maximum allowed, the others came in 1999 with Alma and 1989 with Calvin. Joining Belote and Gasco as first team honorees are a trio of sophomores in Bree Fuller (Hubbardston, Mich./Fulton), Rachel Harris (Uniontown, Ohio/Hoover) and Carly Searles (Levering, Mich./Petoskey).
Trine also had four players named to the All-MIAA Second Team. They include senior Lauren Harris (Uniontown, Ohio/Hoover), junior Haleigh Daniels (Hamilton, Ohio/Hamilton), sophomore Amy Newell (Three Rivers, Mich./Three Rivers) and freshman Kaitlyn Clark (Mount Juliet, Tenn./Wilson Central).
Belote finished the conference season setting an MIAA record with
nine home runs while also sitting first in total bases (57), second
in batting average (.521), runs scored (25), and RBIs (34. Belote
was also second with a 1.188 slugging percentage, tied for third
with a .589 on base percentage, was fifth in hits (25) and tied for
sixth in walks (7). On April 6 at Olivet, Belote set NCAA Division
III records with 14 RBIs and 19 total bases along with tying a
record with four home runs in the game. It is the second straight
season Belote has been named to the All-MIAA First Team. She was
named to the second team in 2011.
Gasco, who was the first player ever to be named the Most Valuable
Position Player and Pitcher in MIAA history last season, becomes
just the fourth player in MIAA history to repeat as MVP, with the
last coming in Leigh Ann LaFave from Alma in 2004-2005. Gasco led
the conference with a near perfect 0.15 earned run average after
allowing just one earned run over 45 2/3 innings of work, nearly
setting an MIAA record in the process. Gasco led the conference
with batters hitting just .124 off her, allowing just 19 hit, with
a 9-0 record and finished second in the conference with 59
strikeouts. Gasco threw three shutouts including a no-hitter April
26 against Saint Mary’s. Gasco also threw a non-conference
no-hitter April 3 against Defiance (OH). Gasco is the lone player
this season to have been selected as an All-MIAA First Team member
all four years.
Gasco was not only was outstanding on the mound, but at the plate as well. Gasco finished third in the conference with a .500 batting average while also being third with 26 runs and 53 total bases. Gasco tied for the league lead with 11 walks and was second in the league in triples behind her sister Carly Searles, with three, and tied for fourth with six homers. Gasco finished MIAA play second with a .603 on base percentage, third with a 1.104 slugging percentage, was tied for fifth with 22 RBIs and was sixth with 24 hits.
Fuller, a right-handed pitcher, finished the MIAA season fifth
with 51 strikeouts in just 36 innings. Fuller was 6-0 in conference
play with a 1.75 ERA allowing just 22 hits, as opponents hit just
.173 off her, the second best in the MIAA. On the year, Fuller went
14-1 with a 1.38 ERA while leading the team with 119 strikeouts and
five complete game shutouts including a no-hitter March 5 against
Beloit (IL).
Rachel Harris, a third baseman who transferred from Division II
Fairmount State (WV), tied Belote with a new MIAA record of nine
home runs. Harris finished second in the conference with 27 hits
and 54 total bases, third with 25 RBIs and was sixth with a .477
batting average. Harris also led the MIAA with a 1.227 slugging
percentage, was tied for the league lead with 11 walks, tied for
third with a .589 on base percentage, fourth with six doubles and
eighth in the league with 20 runs scored.
Searles set several single-season MIAA records this year including
31 hits and her seven triples shattered the previous league record
of four. Searles also led the conference with a .633 batting
average, nearly setting a new MIAA record as well. Searles led the
conference with 32 runs scored, was second with 15 stolen bases and
was fifth with 50 total bases. In addition, Searles led the MIAA
with a .683 on base percentage, was third with nine walks, fourth
with a 1.020 slugging percentage and tied for eighth with 17 RBIs.
Searles was named to the All-MIAA Second Team as season ago.
On the All-MIAA second team for the second time in her career, the
first was 2011, is first baseman Lauren Harris, sister of Rachel
Harris. Lauren Harris was second in the conference with 27 hits,
sixth with a .531 on base percentage, seventh with a .474 batting
average and 41 total bases and tied for ninth with 19 runs scored.
Harris was also tied for fourth with six doubles, tied for sixth
with seven walks, tied for eighth with 17 RBIs and was 10th with a
.719 slugging percentage.
Daniels, the shortstop for the Thunder, led the MIAA with nine
doubles, just one shy of tying a conference record. Daniels was
also tied for ninth with 19 runs, while hitting .392 with 13 RBIs
and 20 hits in league play.
Newell, a transfer from Division I Toledo, sat out the first 18
games while recovering from an ACL injury. Newell returned just in
time for conference play as she set a new single-season MIAA record
with 37 RBIs. Newell also finished tied for third with 25 hits and
was fourth with 24 runs scored, six home runs and 51 total bases.
Newell, the reigning National Fastpitch Coaches Association
(NFCA) Division III Player of the Week, finished league play tied
for fourth with six doubles and was sixth with a .864 slugging
percentage while hitting .424 in 59 at bats.
Clark, one of just two freshmen named All-MIAA, made the switch to
the outfield for the Thunder after having been an infielder during
high school. Earlier in the season, Clark was also named the NFCA
National Division III Player of the Week and finished the
conference season tied for fifth with 22 RBIs and seventh with 21
runs while hitting .328 in 59 at bats. Clark also led the
conference with three sacrifice flies.