The Lynchburg College softball team added more laurels to its impressive season recently by sweeping all three major awards voted on by the Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID).
Senior third baseman Elizabeth Perkins (Kents Store, VA/Fluvanna County) earned Player of the Year honors, pitcher/designated player Katie Bruce (Lanexa, VA/Lafayette) was named the Freshman of the Year, and Dawn Simmons was recognized as the Coach of the Year.
Perkins, a second-team All-American, also was named the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Player of the Year and first-team All-Atlantic Region. The senior third baseman led the conference in batting average (.425), on-base percentage (.561), slugging percentage (.748), and walks (37). She blasted 11 home runs and added 49 RBI and 29 runs.
Bruce was the ODAC Freshman of the Year and an all-conference first-teamer. She nabbed third-team All-Atlantic Region honors while posting a 20-5 record and a 1.70 ERA. Bruce hit .342 at the plate and finished second on the team with 32 RBI.
Simmons, a four-time ODAC Coach of the Year, led the Hornets to their second-straight ODAC title in 2008 to win her first state Coach of the Year Award. The Hornets finished the season with a 39-8 record, and won the Fayetteville Regional for the program's first-ever trip to the finals.
Senior shortstop Dara Sandifer (Monroe, VA/Holy Cross) and junior center fielder Brittany Allsop (Milford, CT/Jonathan Law) joined Perkins and Bruce on the All-State first team.
Sandifer, the conference tournament's Most Outstanding Player, hit .331 for the season and ripped 11 extra-base hits. She was an honorable mention to the All-ODAC team. Allsop was a second-team member of the All- ODAC and All-Atlantic Region squads. Allsop finished second on the team with a .382 batting average and led Lynchburg with 43 runs, three triples and 13 stolen bases, while adding seven doubles and two home runs.
Allsop was also recently named to the CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America) first-team College Division Academic All-District Softball squad. Allsop has a 3.99 cumulative GPA and majors in mathematics. First-team all-district honorees, including Allsop, are eligible for CoSIDA Academic All-American consideration, announced later this month.
Junior first baseman Tara Campbell (Leesburg, VA/Loudoun County) earned second-team all-state accolades. A second-team honoree on the All-Atlantic region team, she belted eight home runs and ended the 2008 campaign with a .361 batting average, 31 RBI and .500 and .586 on-base and slugging percentages, respectively.