May 6, 2009
FRESNO -- Louisiana Tech junior Amberly Waits was named the Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year and four of her Lady Techster teammates earned all-conference honors as the league announced the awards Wednesday.
Waits is the first LA Tech softball player to ever receive a conference player of the year award.
Joining Waits on the all-WAC first team were junior first baseman Kylie Bassett and senior outfielder Danielle Sheridan. Senior outfielder Emma Barnes and sophomore pitcher Meghan Krieg were both named second team members.
LA Tech placed a program record five players on the two teams, second only to Hawaii and Nevada which both placed six players. Fresno State and New Mexico State each placed four players. San Jose State had one member on the team.
"It's great that our players are receiving the recognition from the other coaches in this league," said head coach Sarah Dawson. "It says a lot about how competitive we are both as a team and individually. It shows the growth of this program."
Waits earned the Player of the Year Award as voted on by the league coaches following a junior campaign that saw her shatter numerous offensive records.
"Her numbers speak for themselves," Dawson said. "She had a great sophomore season, and we were curious to see how she would respond this year. It's great to see her put in the hard work, and it pay off on the field. She was consistent all season for us.
"As impressive as her offensive numbers are, I'm proudest of how much she has improved defensively. She is a great athlete, and she has made herself a better defensive player."
For the season, the Cleburne, Texas native batted .471 with 15 doubles, three triples and 16 home runs. She scored 39 runs and drove home 58 while recording 72 hits and an eye-popping .922 slugging percentage.
Waits, who was named second team all-conference last year, set the single season LA Tech records in home runs, RBI, batting average and slugging percentage and needs just four more hits to break her own mark of 75 hits in a season.
She ranks nationally in numerous categories, including No. 4 in slugging percentage, No. 5 in batting average, No. 8 in home runs, No. 9 in RBI per game, No. 17 in home runs per game and No. 23 in on-base percentage.
Defensively, Waits recorded only eight errors all season after making 59 in her first two years in college.
In WAC-only games, Waits batted .433 with six doubles, two triples, six home runs and 18 RBI.
Bassett earned first team accolades after batting .292 with four doubles, one triple, and 12 home runs. She recorded 35 RBI and scored 22 runs.
The Vista, Calif. native ended the regular season red-hot, registering nine home runs over the final 15 games of the season, including game-winning home runs against #25 Fresno State and Stephen F. Austin.
She ended the season on a torrid pace, hitting nine home runs over the final 14 games of the year.
In WAC-only games, Bassett hit .338 with three doubles, one triple, six home runs and 11 RBI.
Sheridan earned her first ever all-conference honors after a career year in which she batted .310 with seven doubles, one triple and three home runs. She also scored 33 runs and drove home 21 during the year.
She registered 13 mutli-hit games and six multi-RBI games this year. Heading into this week's conference tournament, Sheridan is on the verge of setting career highs in average, hits, home runs, RBIs and runs scored.
During her career, the Ft. Worth, Texas native has developed a reputation as one of the strongest outfield arms in the league as proven by her 31 career assists.
In WAC-only games, Sheridan hit .361 with five doubles, two home runs and 11 RBI.
Barnes joins former Techster Brittany Stanley as the only LA Tech players to ever be named all-conference three times as Barnes was named first team all-WAC as a freshman and sophomore.
This season, Barnes batted .269 with two doubles and four home runs and became the program's all-time hits leader, surpassing the 20-year-old record of Chris Sherman (233). She scored 38 runs while recording 16 RBI.
The Sacramento, California native started every game during her LA Tech career in centerfield, making 228 starters entering this week's WAC Tournament.
In WAC-only games, Barnes hit .266 with two home runs and 11 runs scored.
Krieg earned her post-season honors after an impressive sophomore campaign in the circle that saw her record an 18-5 mark and a 1.84 earned run average. In 152.1 innings of work, Krieg surrendered only 106 hits and 40 earned runs while striking out 196 batters.
The Sonora, Texas native ranks No. 20 in the country in strikeouts per seven innings (9.0) and recorded four double digit strikeout performances this season, including a career-high 14 in an 8-1 win over Hawaii March 20.
In WAC-only games, Krieg was 8-1 with a 1.86 earned run average. She struck out 79 batters in 64 innings.
Nevada's Katie Holverson earned the WAC Pitcher of the Year Award while Hawaii hurler Stephanie Ricketts was named the WAC Freshman of the Year. Fresno State coach Margie Wright was named Coach of the Year.
2009 All-WAC First Team
C Noelle Micka, Nevada
1B Kylie Basset, LA Tech
1B Amanda Tauali'i, Hawaii
2B Haley Perkins, Fresno State
3B Sam Bias, Nevada
SS Amberly Waits, LA Tech
OF Tanisha Milca, Hawaii
OF Angie Ortega, NMSU
OF Brittany Puzey, Nevada
OF Danielle Sheridan, LA Tech
UT Hoku Nohara, NMSU
P Katie Holverson, Nevada
P Morgan Melloh, Fresno State
Player of the Year: Amberly Waits, LA Tech
Pitcher of the Year: Katie Holverson, Nevada
Coach of the Year: Margie Wright, Fresno State.
2009 All-WAC Second Team
C Caitlin Stiglich, Fresno State
1B Kelsey Starr, Nevada
2B Tiare Jennings, NMSU
2B Kym Silagyi, Nevada
3B Clare Warwick, Hawaii
SS Haley Gilleland, Fresno State
OF Emma Barnes, LA Tech
OF Kanani Pu'u Warren, Hawaii
OF Kristi Randall, NMSU
OF Sarah Taylor, SJSU
UT Makani Duhaylonsod-Kaleimamahu, Hawaii
P Meghan Krieg, LA Tech
P Stephanie Ricketts, Hawaii
