FOREST, Va. – The Emory & Henry College Softball Team has seen five of its players named to the All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference Teams, ODAC officials announced Tuesday. It marks the most all-league accolades in program history, topping the 2014 season when four Wasps received the honor.
Senior shortstop Danielle Loving (Elizabethton, Tenn.) and junior pitcher Emily Kendrick (Honaker, Va.) were both named to the All-ODAC First Team while junior first baseman Caley Hodge (Elizabethton, Tenn.), junior second baseman Leah Elswick (Honaker, Va.) and sophomore catcher Amanda Whitlow (Riner, Va.) earned second-team recognition.
Additionally, Loving was named the ODAC/Virginia Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar Athlete of the Year by the league’s sports information directors. It marks the first time since the 2004 season that the Wasps have one of the conference’s major award winners.
For the season since 2004, E&H has multiple first-team all-conference performers. Loving earns her second All-ODAC honor after being named to the all-league third team in 2015. She posted a .359 batting average and leads the team and league with 11 home runs. Loving put up a .391 on-base percentage, a .660 slugging average, 35 RBI and a team-best 14 stolen bases.
Kendrick becomes the Wasps’ first all-league pitcher since 2004. This season, she set the school record for wins (19), innings pitched (184.0) shutouts (eight) tied the program best for saves (five), and is currently second in ERA (1.56). Kendrick has struck out 139 batters and has a season WHIP of 0.98.
Hodge earns All-ODAC accolades for the third straight year, leading the team in batting average (.424), on-base percentage (.515), slugging (.712), hits (59), doubles (16) and walks (22). She posted 17 multi-hit games and drove in two or more runs on 13 different occasions. Additionally, Hodge now holds the E&H career record for home runs (25).
Elswick makes it a pair of all-league recognitions after being selected to the first team in 2015 as an outfielder. The junior batted. 333 with a .384 on-base average, 13 doubles, five home runs, 20 RBI and a team-leading 38 runs scored. Elswick earns this year’s honor as a second baseman, moving to the infield midway through the season.
Whitlow gets her first All-ODAC selection after batting .400 in conference play with a .538 on-base percentage. For the year, she scored 11 runs, stole seven bases, and drove in six runs. A presence behind the plate, Whitlow threw out a team-high four runners on the base paths. She also was a key reserve as a pinch runner when not catching for the Wasps.
Emory & Henry has recorded a 34-13 overall mark so far this year and finished as the runner-up in the 2017 ODAC Tournament. The Wasps went 13-7 during the conference regular season, finishing in fourth place. Currently ranked No. 8 in the NCAA Division III Atlantic Region, E&H awaits the announcement of the 62-team field which will compete for the Division III National Championship.
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2017 ALL-ODAC SOFTBALL AWARDS
| ODAC Player of the Year: Cassetty Howerin, Jr., 1B, Virginia Wesleyan | |||
| ODAC Pitcher of the Year: Hanna Hull, Fr., Virginia Wesleyan | |||
| ODAC Coach of the Year: Brandon Elliott, Virginia Wesleyan | |||
| ODAC Rookie of the Year: Hanna Hull, Fr., P, Virginia Wesleyan | |||
| ODAC/Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete: Danielle Loving, Sr., SS, Emory & Henry | |||
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| ALL-ODAC FIRST TEAM | |||
| Emily Kendrick | P | Jr. | Emory & Henry |
| Hanna Hull | P | Fr. | Virginia Wesleyan |
| Jessica Lindsay | C | So. | Virginia Wesleyan |
| Cassetty Howerin | 1B | Jr. | Virginia Wesleyan |
| Caroline Barnette | 2B | Sr. | Guilford |
| Kaylah Duplain | 3B | Fr. | Virginia Wesleyan |
| Danielle Loving | SS | Sr. | Emory & Henry |
| Kayli Blankenship | OF | Fr. | Guilford |
| Sabrina Moreno | OF | So. | Guilford |
| Makayla Carver | OF | So. | Guilford |
| Mikalia Guard | DP | So. | Bridgewater |
| Sydney Reath | UTL | So. | Eastern Mennonite |
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| ALL-ODAC SECOND TEAM | |||
| Teresa Wagner | P | So. | Roanoke |
| Candace Whittemore | P | So. | Randolph-Macon |
| Amanda Whitlow | C | So. | Emory & Henry |
| Caley Hodge | 1B | Jr. | Emory & Henry |
| Leah Elswick | 2B | Jr. | Emory & Henry |
| Mariah Foltz | 3B | Sr. | Eastern Mennonite |
| Kayla Hugate | SS | Fr. | Lynchburg |
| Skylar Dickens | OF | Jr. | Lynchburg |
| Savannah Jones | OF | Fr. | Eastern Mennonite |
| Lindsey Talley | OF | So. | Bridgewater |
| Shelby Helms | DP | Sr. | Guilford |
| Kristen Weadon | UTL | Jr. | Shenandoah |
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| ALL-ODAC THIRD TEAM | |||
| Lindsey Chaney | P | So. | Randolph |
| Courtney Wright | P | Fr. | Virginia Wesleyan |
| Becca Montgomery | C | Jr. | Randolph |
| Hunter Glavé | 1B | Sr. | Randolph |
| Sarah Commons | 2B | Fr. | Lynchburg |
| Erin Forbes | 3B | Sr. | Roanoke |
| Kiersten Richardson | SS | Jr. | Virginia Wesleyan |
| Rachel Guilliams | OF | Sr. | Roanoke |
| Beck Hoskins | OF | Fr. | Eastern Mennonite |
| Katie Smith | OF | Jr. | Roanoke |
| Ruthie Williams | DP | Jr. | Roanoke |
| Taylor Mabry | UTL | So. | Lynchburg |