FARMVILLE, Va. – Headlined by junior ace Sydney Gay and junior catcher Kaylynn Batten on the All-Big South first-team, nine Longwood players earned all-conference recognition Tuesday afternoon, as announced by the conference office.
 
Batten earned All-Big South First-Team honors for the second consecutive season while Gay secures her third consecutive all-conference campaign and her first as a All-Big South first-team honoree.
 
Batten and Gay headlined a group that saw nine different Lancers earn all-conference accolades, including second-team selections Karleigh Donovan and Destiny Martinez. Additionally, the outfield tandem of Jordan Clark and Krista Kelly were named All-Big South Monorable Mention while Sydney Backstrom and Jenna Dunn were tabbed to the Big South All-Freshman Team. Jessica Smith was named to the Big South All-Academic Team.
 
With the nine players honored, Longwood boasts a Big South-best 47 all-conference honors since entering the league prior to the 2013 season, with 32 of those being first or second team all-conference.
 
Gay finished runner-up in the Big South Pitcher of the Year voting to earn her third straight all-conference honor. She finished the regular season as one of two pitchers in the league to pitch at least 150 innings with a sub-2.00 ERA while tying for the most wins in the league with 25. The junior ace finished in the top five among pitchers in the Big South in all major statistical categories, including ERA (1.90), opponent batting average (.205), wins (25), innings pitched (192.0), and games started (31) while giving up two or fewer earned runs in 25 of her 31 starts.
 
Batten has caught every inning of every game for Longwood this season while ranking inside the top five in the Big South in batting average (.381), on base percentage (.481), triples (4) and walks (31) to lead Longwood in all of those categories. She has multiple hits in 18 games and has reached base in 45 of 51 games. In Big South play, Batten is hitting .460 which is the second-highest clip in the league.
 
Earning the first all-conference accolade of her career on the heels of a breakout sophomore season, Martinez was named All-Big South Second-Team. A product of Yorktown, Va., Martinez improved her batting average by 125 points from her freshman to sophomore campaign, hitting .322 on the season to rank third on the Longwood roster and among the top 20 in the Big South. Martinez ranks second among Big South second baseman in average and has nine multi-hit games. She provided two extra-inning, go-ahead hits against Winthrop and Gardner-Webb and leads the Lancers in stolen bases.
 
Meanwhile, Donovan is named all-conference second-team for the third straight season as Longwood's designated player. The redshirt junior hit .331 to rank among the top 15 in the conference in batting average while recording nine doubles, a triple and three home runs. The Dinwiddie, Va., product has 13 multi-hit games and nine multi-RBI performances, while all three of her home runs have come in the sixth inning or later.
 
Kelly earned the second honorable mention All-Big South honors of her career after enjoying the most dynamic season of her four years in Farmville. Kelly batted .301 on the season, ranking as one of five Lancers to hit above the .300 mark. The do-it-all utility player boasted a .989 fielding percentage, including a highlight-reel catch against Campbell that landed at No. 8 on SportsCenter's Top 10 plays. Kelly reached base in 41 of 51 games played with 11 multi-hit games. Since moving to the leadoff position in the batting order, the Lancers are 12-1 and have won seven straight entering this week's conference tournament.
 
Clark received her second straight all-conference accolade, being named to the honorable mention team. She finished the season tied for the team lead with the most home runs on the Longwood roster with eight to match Kaylynn Batten while batting .264. The Midlothian, Va., product finished as one of four Lancers to score 30-plus runs, as she joined Batten, Martinez and Kelly.
 
On the heels of a dynamic freshman season in the circle, Backstrom was named to the Big South All-Freshman Team. The only pitcher in the Big South this season to beat regular season champion Liberty twice, Backstrom led all league freshmen with a 2.08 ERA to rank among the top 30 in the NCAA. She ranks among top five Big South pitchers in ERA (2.08), opponent batting average (.215) and saves (4) and has not allowed more than two earned runs in 14 of her 19 starts.
 
Ending the season on a late-season surge that saw her conclude the regular season on a six-game hitting streak and three multi-hit games, Dunn brings in Big South All-Freshman Team honors. She recorded a season-high four RBI with a home run and bases-clearing, walk off double in Saturday's win against Duke to bolster her batting average to .301.
 
A kinesiology major with a concentration in exercise science, Smith earns her first Big South All-Academic Team accolade. Smith has landed on Longwood's Dean's list in three of her five completed semesters. On the softball diamond, she's enjoying a breakout junior season, hitting .303 with four home runs and 20 RBI. Smith has hits in 23 of 40 games played with seven multi-hit performances.
 
The second-seeded Lancers begin their quest for a fourth straight Big South Championship Thursday, May 10 at 2:30 p.m. against the winner of the opening day matchup between third-seeded Radford and sixth-seeded Winthrop.
 
All of Longwood's postseason games throughout the Big South Tournament will be live on the airwaves of Kickin' Country 92.9 WVHL with Darius Thigpen, the voice of the Lancers, on the call. In addition, fans can tune into Thursday's game on ESPN+ while the tournament's semifinals and championship will air live on ESPN3.
 
2018 BIG SOUTH CONFERENCE SOFTBALL AWARD WINNERS

First-Team All-Conference
OF    Jade Gandara, Jr., Charleston Southern
OF    Andria Booth, Jr., Gardner-Webb
OF    Madison Via, Fr., Liberty
1B     Katie Prebble, Fr., Gardner-Webb (tie)
1B     Autumn Bishop, Soph., Liberty (tie)
2B    Amber Bishop, Soph., Liberty
SS    Caroline Smith, Jr., Campbell
3B    Rachel McCollum, R-Soph., Campbell
C      Kaylynn Batten, Jr., Longwood
P      Julia DiMartino, Jr., Liberty
P      Sydney Gay, Jr., Longwood
DP    Lizabeth McCurry, R-Sr., Campbell
UTL   Mallory Kasinger, Soph., Charleston Southern
 
Second-Team All-Conference
OF    Kaylee Wacaster, Jr., Gardner-Webb
OF    Annie Bakenhus, Jr., Charleston Southern
OF    Tori Zavodny, Sr., Liberty
1B     Ansley Gilreath, Soph., Winthrop
2B    Destiny Martinez, Soph., Longwood
SS    Sarah Robertson, Jr., Liberty
3B    Jaclyn Amader, Jr., Liberty
C      Ashley Westbrooks, Soph., Winthrop
P      Chase Cassady, Jr., Liberty
P      Kiley Majette, Jr., Winthrop
DP    Karleigh Donovan, Jr., Longwood
UTL   Macy Hyatt, Fr., Presbyterian
 
Honorable Mention All-Conference
Jasmeen Click, OF, Jr., Liberty
Jordan Clark, OF, Jr., Longwood
Krista Kelly, OF, Sr., Longwood
Abby Morrow, P, Sr., Radford
Kayla Huffman, P, Jr., Radford
 
All-Freshman Team
Katie Prebble, 1B, Gardner-Webb
Sydney Backstrom, P, Longwood
Madison Via, OF, Liberty
Talia Douglas, 3B, Radford
Katie Manring, INF, Campbell
Katie Stettler, SS, Gardner-Webb
Sarah Brown, 3B, Charleston Southern
Macy Hyatt, UTL, Presbyterian
Bri Bryant, OF, Campbell
Jenna Dunn, OF, Longwood
Meghan Gagliano, OF, Charleston Southern
Brianna Mills, INF/P, Radford
 
All-Academic Team
Caroline Smith, SS, Jr., Campbell
Laina Holmgren, UTL, Sr., Charleston Southern
Ashley Wark, P, Sr., Gardner-Webb
Jessica Cicerchia, 2B, Sr., Liberty
Jessica Smith, 3B, Jr., Longwood
Jonnie Petree, UTL, Jr., Presbyterian
Marissa Gagliano, SS, Jr., Radford
Blake Wallert, INF, Jr., Winthrop
 
Player of the Year
Katie Prebble, 1B, Fr., Gardner-Webb
 
Pitcher of the Year
Julia DiMartino, Jr., Liberty
 
Freshman of the Year
Katie Prebble, 1B, Gardner-Webb
 
Coach of the Year
Dot Richardson, Liberty
 
Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Caroline Smith, SS, Jr., Campbell
 
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