Arden, Lewis named to OVC All-Newcomer Team
OXFORD, Ala. – With the conclusion of the Ohio Valley Conference softball regular season, the league’s coaches and sports information contacts selected its annual All-OVC team. Once all the votes were tabulated, the Golden Eagles picked up two players on the league’s All-Newcomer Team as freshman pitcher Alyssa Arden and freshman infielder/catcher/designated player Raleigh Lewis were on the squad. Arden finished her rookie campaign with an 11-14 record and a 2.89 earned run average. In 152 2/3 innings of work, she allowed 63 earned runs while walking 77 and striking out 119. Opponents hit .229 against her. She collected 11 of the Golden Eagles’ 18 wins and completed 13 games out of her 25 starts with four shutouts.
By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
OXFORD, Ala. – With the conclusion of the Ohio Valley Conference softball regular season, the league's coaches and sports information contacts selected its annual All-OVC team.
Once all the votes were tabulated, the Golden Eagles picked up two players on the league's All-Newcomer Team as freshman pitcher Alyssa Arden and freshman infielder/catcher/designated player Raleigh Lewis were on the squad.
Arden finished her rookie campaign with an 11-14 record and a 2.89 earned run average. In 152 2/3 innings of work, she allowed 63 earned runs while walking 77 and striking out 119. Opponents hit .229 against her. She collected 11 of the Golden Eagles' 18 wins and completed 13 games out of her 25 starts with four shutouts.
The White House Heritage product from Goodlettsville, Tenn., also threw three no-hitters during her freshman season, becoming the first Golden Eagle pitcher to throw three no-hitters in a single season and she kept Alabama State (3/2), Eastern Illinois (3/29) and Jacksonville State (4/9).
In OVC play alone, Arden finished with a 5-8 record and a 2.74 ERA, allowing 29 earned runs in 74 innings of work, while allowing 39 walks and striking out 61. League opponents hit .222 against her.
Lewis finished conference play hitting .220, going 11-for-50 at the plate. She came around to score six times as she hit three home runs and collected 12 RBI. Lewis started 17 of the 19 OVC contests she started in. She also had a .400 slugging percentage and .259 on-base percentage in conference play.
For the full season, the Ringgold, Ga., native batted .265, driving in 23 RBI as she hit six home runs. She had a .461 slugging percentage and a .333 on-base percentage.
The rest of the All-Newcomer Team included: Hannah James (Murray State), Kylie Lane (SIUE), Raven Loveless (Tennessee State), Audrey Lyle (Belmont), Taylor Makowsky (Murray State), Sammi Miller (Eastern Kentucky), Karsen Mosely (Jacksonville State), Lexi Osowski (Austin Peay), Lexi Ray (UT Martin) and Haylee Short (UT Martin).
Southeast Missouri outfielder Rachel Anderson was named the league's Player of the Year, while Jacksonville State pitcher Faith Sims was named the Pitcher of the Year. Murray State pitcher Hannah James was named the Freshman of the Year and Redhawks head coach Mark Redburn was named the OVC Coach of the Year.
The league's first-team roster included: Morgan Rackel (pitcher, Austin Peay), Sims (pitcher, Jacksonville State), Haley Thogmartin (pitcher, Southeast Missouri), Carly Mattson (catcher, Austin Peay), Hannah Clark (infielder, Eastern Kentucky), Anna Chisolm (infielder, Jacksonville State), Ashley Ellis (infielder, Southeast Missouri), Mosely (infielder, Jacksonville State), Kacy Acree (outfielder, Austin Peay), Anderson (outfielder, Southeast Missouri), Taylor Beshears (outfielder, Jacksonville State) and Danielle Liermann (utility, Austin Peay).
The second-team roster included: James (pitcher, Murray State), Brooklin Lee (pitcher, Belmont), Zoe Mihalicz (catcher, Eastern Kentucky), Megan Burton (infielder, Eastern Illinois), Destinee Lizzmore (infielder, Eastern Kentucky), Osowski (infielder, Austin Peay), Zoe Schafer (infielder, SIUE), Paige Clark (outfielder, UT Martin), Baylee Cook (outfielder, Belmont), Claudia Gallo (outfielder, Southeast Missouri), Miller (outfielder, Eastern Kentucky) and Haley Mitchell (utility, Eastern Illinois.)
The 2019 Ohio Valley Conference Softball Championship begins Wednesday at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Ala.
