ROCK HILL, S.C. – Winthrop senior outfielder Lisa Kingsmore and Winthrop skipper Mark Cooke have been voted as the 2008 Big South Conference Softball Player of the Year and Coach of the Year, respectively, by the League’s head coaches and sports information directors, it was announced this evening at the annual softball awards banquet held at McBryde Hall on the campus of Winthrop University.  The voting panel voted Radford hurler Ashley Taylor Pitcher of the Year for the third consecutive year, and Radford utility player Shannon Keefe as the League’s Freshman of the Year.  Kingsmore was also voted Scholar-Athlete of the Year by the League’s sports information directors. 

Kingsmore is the Big South’s leader and is No. 8 in division I with a .459 average at the plate this season.  She is tops in the League with 72 hits and 103 total bases to rank 15th in the country with a .522 on base percentage.  Kingsmore was named the Big South’s Player of the Week on two occasions this season and posted a career-high six homers, with five of them coming in League games.  The 2008 preseason Player of the Year hit .500 in Big South games this year, to go along with nine runs scored and 13 RBI.  She also produced a slugging percentage of .875 and on-base of .519 in Conference only games.  Kingsmore wrapped up the regular-season hitting .475 with runners in scoring position.

Cooke coached his Lady Eagles to the 2008 Big South regular-season softball championship as his team went 33-17 overall and 14-1 in League play.  His Lady Eagles are ranked 22nd the country with a 1.50 team ERA.  The honor is Cooke’s second-straight Coach of the Year selection and third total in his career at the helm of the Lady Eagles.

Taylor’s eight Big South Pitcher of the Week selections this season and her 17 total nods in her career set Big South records in both categories during the 2008 campaign.  She currently ranks No. 11 in the country with a school-record 28 wins during the season to rank No. 1 in the Big South and 5th in the Big South single season records.  Her 83 total wins in her career is also the fifth-highest mark all-time in the Big South.  Taylor posted 216 strikeouts and a 1.18 ERA on the year to rank second in the Big South in both categories.  Her seven saves on the year is good for No. 2 in the nation and is tops on the Big South single-season list.  Taylor is currently the only player in Conference history to be named Pitcher of the Year more than twice since the League began giving the award in 2004.

Keefe was named the Big South’s Player of the Week twice during the 2008 season.  She finished the regular-season ranked second in the League with 10 home runs and finished fourth in the Conference with a .366 average at the dish.  She is currently second in the League with a .675 slugging percentage and has recorded a hit in 9-of-12 Big South games, five of which were multi-hit contests.

Radford outfielder Hope Creasy, second baseman Jenn Everhart, third baseman Vicki Madden, shortstop Kristen Shifflett, catcher Sarah Himan and utility player Shannon Keefe joined Taylor on the First Team to give the Highlanders seven total selections.  Winthrop posted six first team players as Kingsmore was joined by teammates Tessa Thomas in the outfield, Mallory Hogan at first base, shortstop Stephanie Ried, designated player JoLynn Smith and pitcher Megan Evans.

2008 Big South Conference Softball Award Winners

First-team All-Conference
OF:  Lisa Kingsmore, Winthrop
OF:  Hope Creasy, Radford
OF:  Tessa Thomas, Winthrop
1B:  Mallory Hogan, Winthrop
2B:  Jenn Everhart, Radford
3B:  Vicki Madden, Radford
SS:  Kristen Shifflett, Radford
        Stephanie Reid, Winthrop
C:  Sarah Himan, Radford
DP:  JoLynn Smith, Winthrop
U:  Shannon Keefe, Radford
P:  Ashley Taylor, Radford
P:  Megan Evans, Winthrop

Second Team All-Conference
OF:  Jill Shondel, Charleston Southern
OF:  Ashley Carlson, Radford
OF:  Melissa Muehlenfeld, Birmingham-Southern
1B:  Lindsay Creighton, Birmingham-Southern
2B:  Grace Stokes, Birmingham-Southern
3B:  Pearl Coleshill, Winthrop
C:  Ashley Conway, Charleston Southern
DP:  Ashley Williams, Liberty
U:  Verity Long-Droppert, Coastal Carolina
P:  Bethney Reynoldson, Birmingham-Southern
P:  Cari Wooldridge, Winthrop

Academic All-Conference
Lisa Kingsmore, Winthrop
Lindsay Creighton, Birmingham-Southern
Brittany Birnbaum, Coastal Carolina
Ashley Conway, Charleston Southern
Hope Creasy, Radford
Beth Bennett, Liberty
Rachel Parker, Presbyterian

Player of the Year
Lisa Kingsmore, Winthrop

Pitcher of the Year
Ashley Taylor, Radford

Freshman of the Year
Shannon Keefe, Radford

Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Lisa Kingsmore, Winthrop

Coach of the Year
Mark Cooke, Winthrop