BRISTOL, Tenn. – Prior to the start of the Conference Carolinas Softball Championship, the league announced their all-conference awards, and six King University student-athletes were honored. The regular season co-champion Tornado placed three on the first team, two on the second team and two on the all-defensive team. Head coach
Jake Cockerham was also selected Coach of the Year.
Rikkelle Miller was selected first team all-conference at utility, marking the second straight season she has earned first team honors. She is one of the top power hitters in the league as her 16 doubles rank fourth in the league and 19th in all of NCAA Division II. She leads the league and ranks 22nd in the country with 13 home runs. She hit home runs in each end of final doubleheader of the regular season to help King to the sweep of Emmanuel and clinch a share of the regular season title. Miller has driven in 46 runs, ranking her sixth in the league and 42nd in the country while her slugging percentage of .756 ranks fourth in Conference Carolinas. Miller leads the Tornado with a batting average of .393, which ranks sixth in the conference.
Erin Foster earns first team honors in the outfield for the first time in her career as she earned second team honors last season. She has been a table setter for the Tornado at the leadoff spot all season as her .458 on base percentage ranks 16th in Conference Carolinas. She has scored 45 runs, ranking her sixth in the league while her 49 hits, 22 walks and seven home runs all rank in the league's top 20.
Carly Turner has been spectacular season for the Tornado as she garnered first team all-conference as a pitcher. In the circle, Turner has been masterful, posting a 12-1 record with a 2.97 ERA. She ranks in the league's top 10 in ERA, batting average against (.251), batters struck out (109) and wins as she has tossed 103.2 innings. Offensively she has been more impressive as she leads the league and ranks 22nd in the country with 13 home runs. Her slugging percentage of .701 ranks sixth in the conference while her batting average of .374 is 14th. Turner is fourth in the league with 65 hits and fifth with 46 runs scored. She is also fifth with 16 doubles and sixth with 46 runs batted in.
Peyton Day was selected second team all-conference as a catcher, earning all-conference honors for the first time in her career. Day has been solid behind the plate for the Tornado has her .272 batting average ranks seventh in the powerful Tornado lineup. She is one of nine Tornado have at least 20 runs batted in with 22 this season. Eight of her 34 hits have been doubles, and she has ripped two home runs this year.
Nikole Counts earns second team all-conference honors a season after garnering first team accolades. Counts has been solid in the circle all season as her 138.2 innings pitched ranks fourth in the league and her 16 wins rank second. She also ranks in the league's top 10 in ERA (3.63), batting average against (.283) and strikeouts with 95. Her 16 wins also rank her 29th in all of NCAA Division II and her 14 complete games ranks third in the league and 77th nationally.
Conference Carolinas awarded an all-defensive team for the first time as Miller and
Samantha Helms were selected. Miller was selected at utility while Helms garnered recognition in left field. Miller played both catcher and third base and owns a .966 fielding percentage. She threw out five base stealers on 15 attempts. In the outfield, Helms has been solid with a pair of out field assists and a .974 fielding percentage.
Helms also was selected the Conference Carolinas Elite 23 Award, which is modeled off of the NCAA Elite 90 Award and is awarded to the student-athlete at the final championship site with the highest GPA.
This is the first Conference Carolinas Coach of the Year award for Cockerham as he has led the Tornado to a school-record 37 wins so far. The Tornado have also set school records for home runs in a season with 59 and doubles in a season with 112 this season. King is currenlty on their longest winning streak in program history at 11 straight victories. Those wins gave King a share of the Conference Carolinas regular season title, their second in program history and first since 2013. In league play, King went 18-6, their most wins in conference play since that 2013 season when they went 17-3 in league play.
The top seeded Tornado will be in action in the Conference Carolinas Softball Championship on Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. as they will take on the winner of eight-seed Lees-McRae College and ninth-seed North Greenville University. The tournament will take place at Tyger River Park in Duncan, S.C. with the championship scheduled for Sunday afternoon.
