JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - The Morehead State softball team landed two players on the All-Ohio Valley Conference softball teams and two on the All-Newcomer squad when the awards were announced Wednesday night. Junior pitcher Alex Gjevre and sophomore third baseman Rebecca Butler were on the first-team, while freshmen Kayla Brill and Sam Woodall were honored on the all-newcomer list.
Gjevre, who was the 2008 OVC Pitcher of the Year and on the first-team, led all league players with 24 pitching victories in 2009, and she led the conference and broke her own school record for strikeouts in a season with 216 entering the OVC Tournament week. Gjevre was named four times as OVC Pitcher of the Week as well. She is 24-9 with a 1.40 ERA. Her stats rank her in the top 30 in the nation in wins, strikeouts and ERA. During the year, she obliterated the MSU career record for strikeouts and now has 435 career Ks. She also has been nominated for NFCA All-Region honors.
Butler, who was named second-team all-OVC in 2008, led the Eagles in hitting at .331 and ranked in the top ten in the league in batting average. She also clubbed seven home runs so far, which ranks tied for the third highest season in school history. Her 33 RBI in 2009 is ranked as the fourth highest season total in program history. Butler also led all league players with a 15-game hitting streak earlier this year.
Brill was among the league' top utility players, seeing time as designated player in the lineup and in the outfield and third base on the field. She is hitting .297 in both overall games and OVC-only games in 2009, and she ranks second on the team with 27 RBI. She has hit four home runs, five doubles and has 43 hits so far on the year.
Woodall hit better than .300 in her first season as a collegiate softball student-athlete, coming in at .302 in the batter's box so far. She also ranks second on the team with five home runs and leads the team with seven stolen bases. In addition, she has nailed 10 doubles and has 18 RBI.
Five players repeated as first-team selections in 2009 after earning the same honor in 2008, and two players moved up to the first-team this year after being on the second-team in 2008. Only four of the 24 players named on either team is a senior.
Jacksonville's State Nikki Prier is the OVC Player of the year, while teammate Karla Pittman is the OVC Pitcher of the Year. UT Martin infielder Jenny Bain was named the league's Freshman of the Year, and JSU's Jana McGinnis and Southeast Missouri skipper Lana Richmond split the votes to earn co-Coach of the Year.