Arkansas Tech was the victor during the 2011 Gulf South Conference West Division softball race, and in due course the Golden Suns received several spoils when the league handed out its postseason awards on Wednesday, May 4.
Seven Golden Suns were All-GSC West Division. Pitcher Shelby Jo Fenter (photographed), second baseman Shanda Jimeson and shortstop Alicia Zack were selected to the All-GSC West first team.
Arkansas Tech is represented on the All-GSC West second team by pitcher Alex Doyle, first baseman/right fielder Tiphani Moon, third baseman Natalie Magie and designated player/first baseman Hayley Hudson.
The GSC postseason awards are voted on by league head coaches.
The Golden Suns were picked to finish fifth in the GSC West this season, but they surpassed those expectations by a far piece. Arkansas Tech won its third GSC West Division championship in the last four years with a regular season overall record of 33-17 and a GSC mark of 23-7.
Despite those achievements, the top postseason honors still went to preseason GSC West favorite Arkansas-Monticello. UAM’s Alvy Early was named GSC West coach of the year and Cotton Blossom pitcher/first baseman Kayla Jackson swept GSC West pitcher and player of the year honors. Arkansas-Monticello finished second in the 2011 GSC West softball standings.
Fenter was named All-GSC as a pitcher despite the fact that injury has kept her out of the circle since April 6. Her 129 strikeouts are second-most in the GSC this year. She won her final five decisions and was 9-4 with a 2.07 earned run average before injury limited her to designated player duty during the final month of the season. A freshman from West Memphis, Fenter is hitting .312 with five home runs and 19 runs batted in.
Jimeson is a senior from Mansfield, Texas. She has 57 base hits this season, fifth-most in the GSC. Jimeson is hitting .345 with four home runs and 25 RBIs.
Zack carries a batting average of .307. A freshman from Frisco, Texas, she has recorded one home run and 15 RBIs.
Doyle is a senior from Carrollton, Texas. She transferred to Arkansas Tech after pitching at Southern Arkansas for three years. Doyle is 12-9 with a 1.88 earned run average for the Golden Suns in 2011. She has won her last three decisions.
Moon, a senior from Euless, Texas, will go into the record books as the only Golden Suns softball player to ever earn four All-GSC awards. Arkansas Tech will move forward to the new NCAA Division II Great American Conference next year. Moon is hitting .272 with eight home runs and 23 RBIs this season.
Magie is hitting .220 with nine RBIs. She has only committed one error in 119 chances at third base this season. Magie is a sophomore from Perryville.
Hudson broke the Arkansas Tech school record for single-season home runs and runs batted in this season. A freshman from Enid, Okla., Hudson has a batting average of .336 with 14 home runs and 43 RBIs.
Head coach Gidget Pambianchi and the Golden Suns will begin their pursuit of the GSC Tournament title when they face North Alabama in a first-round game at 11 a.m. on Friday, May 6, at the Greenbrook Softball Complex in Southaven, Miss.
Radio station KCAB 980 AM will broadcast the game in the Arkansas River Valley.
Click here to access an Internet stream of the broadcast.
Click here to learn more about Arkansas Tech softball.
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