Julia Morrow and Leslie Kanter Claim Major SSC Awards
MELBOURNE, Fla. - A total of 30 student-athletes have been named to the 2015 All-Sunshine State Conference Softball Team, it was announced Wednesday. Barry's Dee Espinosa was named Player of the Year and Tampa's Julia Morrow was named Pitcher of the Year. Haley Wiseman of Barry was named Freshman of the Year. Leslie Kanter of Tampa was named Coach of the Year for the second straight season.
Voting for the All-SSC Softball Team was conducted among the league's softball coaches.
Espinosa, a junior from Miami, Florida, led the SSC in Slugging Percentage (.837), On-base Percentage (.524), Runs Batted In (48), and Doubles (25). She also hit .415 with 10 Home Runs, leading the Buccaneers to a 32-15 overall record, 16-8 in SSC play.
Morrow led the conference with 338 strikeouts, 58 of which caught batters looking. Morrow's efforts in the circle lead the Spartans to a second consecutive SSC regular season title and automatic berth into the postseason. The senior from Baiting Hollow, N.Y. posted a 1.38 ERA and 25 wins during the regular season.
Wiseman, a freshman from Winter Haven, Florida, went 18-7 from the circle while posting a 2.20 Earned Run Average and 147 Strikeouts during the 2015 regular season, all of which led the Buccaneers.
Kanter wins SSC Coach of the Year for the third time in four years, fourth overall, after leading the Spartans to their second SSC regular season title in as many years and will head into the postseason with a 28-11 record.
Morrow and Megan Copeland (Barry) return to the first team in 2015 after earning first accolades last season.. Julie Brito (Barry), Brittany Johnson (Rollins), Adriana Sanders (Saint Leo), Elaine Brown (Florida Tech), and Niki Fogle (Rollins) all moved up to first team after being selected to the second team in 2014.
Rollins, Florida Tech, and Tampa have each been selected to the NCAA postseason and will open up play at the NCAA South Regional Tournament on Friday, May 8th in Florence, Alabama. No. 2 Rollins and No. 7 Tampa will face off against each other while No. 6 Florida Tech goes up against regional host No. 3 North Alabama.