FARMVILLE, Va. – With Big South regular season title already in hand, the Longwood softball program added to its trophy case Wednesday, sweeping the three major Big South awards. Megan Baltzell earned Player of the Year honors, Elizabeth McCarthy took home Pitcher of the Year honors and head coach Kathy Riley was named the Coach of the Year.

Longwood becomes just the second program to sweep Player of the Year, Pitcher of the Year and Coach of the Year accolades, joining Radford who accomplished the feat in 2011 and 2012.

Overall, the Lancers led the league with seven all-conference selections, including a league-best four players to the first team. Outfielder Justina Augustine and shortstop Emily Murphy joined Baltzell and McCarthy on the first team. Meanwhile, freshmen Glenn Walters and Kelsey Sweeney, as well as Chelsea Sciacca were named to the second team.

Sweeney and Walters were also named to the conference's All-Freshman Team, while Augustine earned All-Academic Team recognition.  

Baltzell wins Player of the Year for the second straight season, as a Longwood player has captured the accolade in each of the three seasons the squad has been a member of the Big South. The Stafford, Va., native was the conference leader in home runs and second nationally with 24 this season, while climbing to the top of the Big South charts in career home runs despite being eligible for just the three seasons Longwood has been a member of the league.

McCarthy wins Pitcher of the Year for the first time in her career and becomes the first Lancer pitcher to pick up Pitcher of the Year accolades. McCarthy enjoyed her second straight 20+ win season in a Lancer uniform, going 21-12 in the regular season with a 3.46 ERA. In conference play, the sophomore southpaw led the league in wins (14) and strikeouts (107). In the middle of the season, McCarthy started 12 straight Big South games from March 28-April 12, pitching all but three innings and earning an 11-1 record. She enters the tournament needing just 16 strikeouts for Longwood's single season strikeout record.

Riley picks up the Coach of the Year honor for the first time in Longwood's three seasons in the Big South. Currently in her 18th season as head coach, Riley has never had a season below .500 and has led the Lancers to 10 30+ win campaigns, which this year's team is primed to do as well.

Joining Baltzell and McCarthy on the first team is Augustine and Murphy. Augustine enjoyed a breakout campaign in her sophomore season in a Lancer uniform, with the second highest batting average on the team at .308. Longwood's leadoff batter finished third in the Big South in doubles (12), while leading the league in conference play with nine. In addition, she stood fourth in league play in hits (29) including seven home runs.

In addition, Augustine joined the Big South All-Academic team, as she is majoring in Liberal Studies with a concentration in Elementary Education.

Meanwhile, Murphy joins the first team for the second straight season, batting at a .351 clip in conference play. She finished second in Big South play in runs scored, while placing third in Big South games in home runs (12) and RBI (28). Murphy also ranked among the top 10 in total bases, walks, on-base percentage and slugging percentage and enjoyed three multi-home run contests, including two in Big South play.

Sweeney and Walters each made the second team in their rookie campaigns, as the pair was also named to the Big South All-Freshman team. Sweeney finished third on the squad this season with a .303 batting average, while recording 23 RBI. In addition, Sweeney finished fifth on the squad in walks and enjoyed a .588 slugging percentage in Big South play.

Walters earned the starting nod in center field, as she started 19 of 22 games in conference play. The Glen Allen, Va., product notched a batting average of .268, including a .422 mark in the Big South. She didn't commit an error throughout the season and was sixth in the league in stolen bases.

Sciacca joins the pair of freshmen on the second team, as she earns All-Big South honors for the first time in her career. She batted .281 overall to go along with 33 RBI and 22 runs scored. Sciacca elevated her game in Big South play with a .351 batting average, six home runs and 14 runs scored. She finished among the top 10 in the league in home runs and RBI, as well as total bases (78) and slugging percentage (.510).

Longwood opens the Big South Tournament Thursday at 2:30 p.m., as the squad will face the winner of the play-in game between Gardner-Webb and Radford. Longwood will open the tournament as the top seed for the first time in program history.

2015 BIG SOUTH CONFERENCE SOFTBALL AWARD WINNERS
Player of the Year – Megan Baltzell, Longwood
Pitcher of the Year – Elizabeth McCarthy, Longwood
Freshman of the Year – Alexia Taylor, Liberty
Coach of the Year – Kathy Riley, Longwood
Scholar-Athlete of the Year – Megan Robinson, Liberty
 
First-Team All-Conference
OF - Briana Chiusano, Coastal Carolina
OF - Amanda Matsumoto Charleston Southern
OF - Stephanie Jones, Campbell (tie)
OF - Kellie Beres, Gardner-Webb (tie)
OF - Justina Augustine, Longwood (tie)
1B - Marci Christian, Charleston Southern
2B - Erin Ruff, Presbyterian College
SS - Emily Murphy, Longwood
3B - Kory Hayden, Coastal Carolina
C - Megan Baltzell, Longwood
P - Elizabeth McCarthy, Longwood
P - Julia Callicutt, Campbell
DP - Morgan Noad, Coastal Carolina
UTL - Cheyenne Gandara, Charleston Southern
 
Second-Team All-Conference
OF - Shelby Petik, Presbyterian College
OF - Glenn Walters, Longwood
OF - Becky Mantel, Radford
1B - Kelsey Sweeney, Longwood
2B - Megan Robinson, Liberty
SS - Ericka Nesbitt, Campbell
3B - Alexia Taylor, Liberty
C - Amanda Daneker, Coastal Carolina
P - Kiana Quolas, Coastal Carolina
P - Chandler Ball, Liberty
DP - Chelsea Sciacca, Longwood
UTL - Rachel Cumiskey, Gardner-Webb
 
Honorable Mention All-Conference
Tori Zavodny, OF, Liberty
Jill McLean, OF, Presbyterian College
Maddie Antone, SS, Winthrop
Kelsey Dominik, P, Coastal Carolina
Megan Honaker, UTL, Radford
 
All-Freshman Team
Alexia Taylor, 3B, Liberty
Rachel Cumiskey, UTL, Gardner-Webb
Glenn Walters, OF, Longwood
Kelsey Sweeney, 1B, Longwood
Tori Zavodny, OF, Liberty
Stephanie Baro, 3B, Charleston Southern
Madison Kotchey, 1B, Liberty
Abby Tincher, P, Liberty
K.J. Uyeno, DP, Winthrop
Kailey Mellen, OF, Coastal Carolina
Annie Robinson, 1B, Coastal Carolina
Maggie Rowe, C, Radford
 
All-Academic Team
Katie Baker, P, Campbell
Jennifer Giles, P, Charleston Southern
Kiana Quolas, P, Coastal Carolina
Savannah Burns, SS, Gardner-Webb
Megan Robinson, 2B, Liberty
Justina Augustine, OF, Longwood
Shelby Petik, OF, Presbyterian College
Casey Burns, 3B, Radford
Sutton Watson, P, Winthrop