Quote:MOBILE, Ala. - The 2010 Sun Belt Conference Softball Championship festivities began on Tuesday evening at Jaguar Field in Mobile, Ala., with the Championship Family Night celebration, which included an awards ceremony, student-athlete home run derby and a fireworks show.

FIU swept the performer of the year honors at the awards ceremony, as senior Kasey Barrett was named SBC Pitcher of the Year, sophomore Ashley McClain received SBC Player of the Year recognition and freshman Brie Rojas was tabbed SBC Freshman of the Year. Both Barrett and McClain's honor mark the first ever of their kind in FIU softball history, and also the first of each of their careers, while Rojas is the third FIU softball player to be named Freshman of the Year, as Jennifer Owens earned the honor in 2001 and Sarah Belanger received the nod in 2006.

The Golden Panthers also placed five student-athletes on the All-SBC First and Second teams, as the handful of conference accolades includes four first-team selections. Freshman Jessy Alfonso (3B), Barrett (P), McClain (OF) and Rojas (2B) were all named to the first team, each earning their first career SBC postseason honor. The four first-team picks tie a school record, as FIU previously placed four student-athletes on the first team in 2003 and 2006.

Freshman Kayla Burri earned second-team honors at shortstop despite missing nine games due to injury, as she also earned her first postseason league nod.

In addition to the student-athlete accolades, third-year Head Coach Beth McClendon was named SBC Co-Coach of the Year along with Louisiana's Stefni Lotief. The honor marks the second of its kind for McClendon as she also earned SBC Coach of the Year honors in 2008. The only other FIU softball coach to earn the coach's league award was Kim Gwydir in 2003.

Tuesday's awards ceremony also included conference academic accolades, as FIU placed two student-athletes on the SBC Commissioner's List (GPA of 3.5 or higher) in senior Lauren Spiers and sophomore Jennifer Gniadek. A pair of Golden Panthers also earned SBC Academic Honor Roll (GPA of 3.0 or higher) recognition as Barrett and senior Morgan Huling were recognized for their academic achievements.

In home run derby action on Tuesday evening, FIU was represented by sophomore Jenny Welch as she helped the East Division defeat the West Division, 42-23.

FIU begins play at the 2010 Sun Belt Conference Championship on Wednesday, May 12, as the No. 2-seeded Golden Panthers face No. 7 ULM at 1:30 ET at Jaguar Field in Mobile, Ala. Visit http://www.sunbeltsports.org for complete championship coverage, including live stats and live video broadcasts. Fans can also follow @SoftballFIU on Twitter for live updates.

Not bad, for a #2 Seed.

yup yup not bad at all for a team that won 2 of 3 from the No. 1 seed this year.

Congratulations !

(05-12-2010 10:44 AM)RomanFIU Wrote:  yup yup not bad at all for a team that won 2 of 3 from the No. 1 seed this year.

Now, you'll have to win twice against the No. 1 seed to win the tournament. (If you make it out of the losers' bracket).

I keed. I keed.

Nevermind.

(05-12-2010 10:44 AM)RomanFIU Wrote:  yup yup not bad at all for a team that won 2 of 3 from the No. 1 seed this year.

make that 2 out of 4 and a ticket home..

(05-14-2010 02:45 PM)Zulu Cajun Wrote:  

(05-12-2010 10:44 AM)RomanFIU Wrote:  yup yup not bad at all for a team that won 2 of 3 from the No. 1 seed this year.

make that 2 out of 4 and a ticket home..

Ummm...never played UL our losses were to ULM and UNT. Two and done.