NCCSIA announces 2014 North Carolina College Division Softball All-State Teams

The North Carolina Collegiate Sports Information Association (NCCSIA) announced its selections for the 2014 College Division All-State Softball Teams on Tuesday. Twenty-three student-athletes representing nine different North Carolina universities and colleges were named to the 2014 NCCSIA College Division All-State Softball Teams.

Lenoir-Rhyne University placed four student-athletes on the first-team.Wingate University had three on the first team while Guilford College had two and UNC Pemborke, Chowan University and Salem College each had one.

Lenoir-Rhyne, which finished 40-15 and made its ninth straight NCAA Division II Tournament appearance, had two starting pitchers and two infielders on the first-team squad. All-Southeast third baseman Haily Jarman captured her third straight all-state honor after batting .337 with six homers and 38 RBI in her senior season. Sophomore teammate Maryann Hoskins, the 2014 South Atlantic Conference Pitcher of the Year, returned to the first-team all-state squad after posting a 20-9 record with a 1.50 earned run average and 10 shutouts. Hoskins was a Daktronics Second Team All-Southeast Region pitcher, as was teammate Brandi Hole. Hole received her first all-state award after posting a 20-6 mark with a 1.28 ERA and 136 strikeouts. The Bears’ Jody Mizelle returned to the all-state team after a two-year absence thanks to a .371 batting average, four triples, 12 homers, and 43 RBI, all team highs.

Wingate ended Lenoir-Rhyne’s season in the NCAA Tournament and finished with a 38-20 overall record. Sophomore catcher Taylor Laskey makes her all-state debut after batting .349 with 10 homers and a club-high 45 RBI. She earned All-Southeast honors from both the National Fastpitch Coaches’ Association (NFCA) and Daktronics, as did teammate and fellow first-team all-state selection Kayla Saliga. The junior designated player returns to the all-state squad after leading the Bulldogs with a .372 batting average, plus 13 doubles, seven homers, and 30 RBI. She also received Capital One® NCAA Division II First Team Academic All-America recognition. Wingate’s Mellena Helms made the first-team all-state unit with a .361 batting average, a club-best 51 runs scored and 11 home runs.

NCAA Division III member Guilford College had NFCA First Team All-America second baseman Cynthia Hayes garner all-state recognition for the second year in a row. The senior led Division III with 23 doubles, ranked fourth nationally with a .532 batting average and sixth in on-base percentage (.599). Junior teammate Marty Wilcox joined Hayes on the first-team all-state squad as the team’s utility player. She hit .403, belted a school-record 11 home runs and knocked in 51, which both ranked among the top-23 figures in Division III.

Senior outfielder Liz Hipple of Chowan University captured her third-straight all-state award after hitting .370 with a team-best 13 doubles and 38 RBI. The Second Team All-Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association performer was a second-team all-state honoree in 2013 and a first-team pick in 2012.

UNC Pembroke senior outfielder Taylor Cloninger returned to the first-team all-state team thanks to a .320 batting average, two home runs and 25 RBI. She was a First Team All-Peach Belt Conference selection.

Salem College outfielder Kristi Morton rounds out the first-team all-state unit. The senior paced the Spirits with a .426 batting average, 13 doubles, three triples and seven stolen bases.

The NCCSIA All-State second-team is comprised of Chowan’s Courtney Baker and Tori Cragan, UNC Pembroke’s Whitney Jackson and Brea Hartley, Wingate’s Stacey Houser, Catawba College’s Carley Tysinger, Lenoir-Rhyne’s Sarah Kenley, Salem College’s Kierston Garner, Guilford College’s Rachel Howard, Queens University of Charlotte’s Taylor Rosenbalm and Greensboro College’s Jackie Nicholson.

Nominees were submitted by North Carolina sports information professionals and selected by the NCCSIA members.

Founded in 2002, the NCCSIA is comprised of sports information professionals from NCAA Division I, II, III, NAIA and independent institutions from the state of North Carolina. The purpose of the organization is to promote collegiate athletics at all schools. Membership is open to anyone affiliated with a college, university or conference located in North Carolina, and whose area of responsibility lies within sports information.

NCCSSIA selects all-state teams in the University (Division I) and College (Division II, III, NAIA) divisions for men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s soccer, volleyball, softball and baseball.

North Carolina Collegiate Sports Information Association
2014 College Division All-State Softball Teams

First Team
Pos.  Name                       Class  School                         Hometown
P     Brandi Hole                So.    Lenoir-Rhyne University        Sandy Ridge, N.C.
P     Maryann Hoskins &          So.    Lenoir-Rhyne University        Havelock, N.C.
C     Taylor Laskey              So.    Wingate University             Cherryville, N.C.
IF    Cynthia Hayes &            Sr.    Guilford College               Seagrove, N.C.
IF    Mellena Helms              So.    Wingate University             Concord, N.C.
IF    Haily Jarman & %           Sr.    Lenoir-Rhyne University        Wadesboro, N.C.
IF    Jody Mizella #             Sr.    Lenoir-Rhyne University        Colerain, N.C.
OF    Taylor Cloninger &         Sr.    UNC Pemborke                   Jacksonville, N.C.
OF    Liz Hipple & %             Jr.    Appalachian State University   Pemborke Pines, Fla.
OF    Kristi Morton              Sr.    Salem College                  Trussville, Ala.
UTL   Marty Wilcox               Jr.    Guilford College               S. Charleston, W.Va.
DP    Kayla Saliga &             Jr.    Wingate University             Asheboro, N.C.

Second Team Pos. Name Class School Hometown P Stacey Houser & So. Wingate University Mooresville, N.C. P Carley Tysinger & So. Catawba College Lexington, N.C. C Sarah Kenley Fr. Lenoir-Rhyne University Charlotte, N.C. IF Courtney Baker Sr. Chowan University Chesapeake, N.C. IF Tori Cragan So. Chowan University Concord, N.C. IF Kierston Garner & So. Salem College Danbury, N.C. IF Rachel Howard Jr. Guilford College Hillborough, N.C. OF Whitney Jackson So. UNC Pembroke Farmville, N.C. OF Taylor Rosenbalm So. Queens University of Charlotte Statesville, N.C. UTL Jackie Nicholson & Jr. Greensboro College Snow Camp, N.C. DP Brea Hartley & Jr. UNC Pembroke Lexington, N.C.
& - Named to 2013 All-State Team % - Named to 2012 All-State Team # - Named to 2011 All-State Team