BRISTOL, Tenn. – The King University baseball and softball teams were well represented on the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District teams, with
Wes Bonney,
Davis Hall,
Ray Berry,
Garret Huffman and
Conner Hyatt earning all-district nods for baseball, while
Nikole Counts,
Tinsley Thompson and
Maggie Deel earned the honors for softball.
Bonney, a senior from Norfolk, Va., played in 42 games for the Tornado, with 37 starts. He batted .286, with five doubles, a triple and 13 RBI. He had seven multi-hit games, including a 3-for-3 performance against Barton on May 5, where he scored a pair of runs.
Hall, a senior from Bluff City, Tenn., played in 43 games, starting 42 times. He batted .289, with eight doubles, two triples, three home runs and 27 RBI while also being perfect in stolen base attempts. He had 10 multi-hit games, including a pair of four hit performances for the Tornado, most recently April 4 against Mars Hill, where he was 4-for-5, with four RBI and two runs scored.
Berry, a junior from Chilhowie, Va., made 16 relief appearances on the season, throwing 25 innings, with an ERA of 5.40. He picked up one win and three saves, while striking out 13 batters. On March 11 against Southern Wesleyan, he threw a season-high four innings, allowing one hit and no runs.
Huffman, a sophomore from Raphine, Va., played in 24 games, making 22 starts. He batted .313, with two doubles and five RBI, also drawing 12 walks and going 4-for-6 in stolen base attempts. He had a seven-game hit streak, which was fourth-longest on the team.
Hyatt, a sophomore from Johnson City, Tenn., started all 24 games that he played, compiling a batting average of .253, with five doubles and seven RBI, He was 4-for-5 in stolen base attempts and had consecutive three-hit games on March 11 against Southern Wesleyan and March 14 against Tusculum.
Counts, a senior from Clintwood, Va., made 21 appearances in the circle, with 15 starts. She was 4-8, with an ERA of 4.85 and 55 strikeouts. Her final start of the season came against Lincoln Memorial in the NCAA Division II softball southeast regional, where she threw seven innings, allowing one earned run on six hits with seven strikeouts as the Tornado fended off elimination with a win over the Railsplitters.
Thompson, a junior from Gallatin, Tenn., started 59 of the 60 games the Tornado played, batting .285, with 10 doubles, three triples, seven home runs and 29 RBI. She had 15 multi-hit games, including a pair of three-hit games. She had a career-high eight game hitting streak that lasted from April 11 until April 20, a stretch where she totaled 12 hits.
Deel, a junior from Bristol, Va., played in 45 games, with 43 starts. She batted .321, with seven doubles, four home runs and 24 RBI. She had 15 multi-hit games, including in the Conference Carolinas championship game, where she went 3-for-4 against Francis Marion.
