DiMartino, Richardson Repeat as Big South Softball Major Award Winners
5/8/2018 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Official Conference Release
On the day prior to the 2018 Big South Softball Championship, the Liberty softball team received 13 postseason honors, highlighted by repeat Big South Coach of the Year and Pitcher of the Year laurels.
Fifth-year Head Coach Dot Richardson was named Big South Coach of the Year for the second year in a row, while junior Julia DiMartino repeated as Big South Pitcher of the Year. Gardner-Webb freshman Katie Prebble was named both Big South Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year, while Campbell's Caroline Smith was voted Big South Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Liberty placed a conference-record nine players on the Big South All-Conference Softball team. Five different teams had previously received eight all-conference selections, with the most recent being the 2017 Liberty Lady Flames.
Liberty's All-Big South first-team selections were: freshman outfielder Madison Via, sophomores Autumn Bishop (1B) and Amber Bishop (2B) and junior Julia DiMartino (P).
The Lady Flames were represented on the all-conference second team by: senior outfielder Tori Zavodny, juniors Sarah Robertson (SS), Jaclyn Amader (3B) and Chase Cassady (P). Junior outfielder Jasmeen Click was listed as an honorable mention choice.
Senior infielder Jessica Cicerchia was named to the Big South All-Academic team.
Via, the reigning Big South Freshman of the Week, was also voted to the Big South All-Freshman team.
Zavodny becomes the second Liberty player all-time with four all-conference softball honors, joining Ashley Williams (2005-08). DiMartino is just the second player in program history to earn Big South All-Conference first team honors as a freshman, sophomore and junior, joining Stacy Radulovich (1996-98). Via joins Radulovich (1996) as the only two Liberty outfielders to received all-conference first-team honors as freshmen.
Amader, Amber Bishop, Autumn Bishop, Click and Robertson all pick up their second career all-conference honors, while Cassady and Via were honored for the first time. The Bishop twins are the third and fourth players in program history to received first-team all-conference awards as both freshmen and sophomores. Amader joins Jessica Moore (2005-07) as the only Lady Flames to be named all-conference as both an outfielder and an infielder in their careers.
Richardson repeats as Big South Coach of the Year, the second Liberty softball coach to receive back-to-back Coach of the Year honors. Paul Wetmore earned the award in 1996, 1999 and 2000. Richardson has led the Lady Flames to a 44-12 regular-season record, ending the regular season on a program-record 14-game overall winning streak and 18-game home winning streak. The Lady Flames have also set a program record with 18 conference wins and 23 home wins, giving them a 50-16 record in Big South play in the last three years. Richardson led the Lady Flames to a 6-1 record against ACC opponents this year.
A native of Brockport, N.Y., DiMartino went 25-7 with a 1.83 ERA, nine shutouts, 201 strikeouts and a .203 opponents' batting average. She set program single-season records for victories, shutouts and saves. In conference play, she went 11-1, leading the Big South in ERA (1.11), shutouts (4), strikeouts (84) and opponents' batting average (.190). DiMartino finished the regular season as the only Big South pitcher to rank in the top 10 nationally in wins, shutouts and saves. Still only a junior, she has set a new program record with 64 career wins, tying the program standard with 23 career shutouts.
The 2018 Big South Softball Championship presented by Musco Sports Lighting begins on Wednesday at Radford Softball Stadium in Radford, Va. Top-seeded Liberty has received a bye to the second day. Liberty will face the winner of No. 4 seed Campbell and No. 5 seed Gardner-Webb, Thursday at noon.
2018 Big South Softball Award Winners
First Team All-Conference
Jade Gandara, Jr., OF, Charleston Southern
Andria Booth, Jr., OF, Gardner-Webb
Madison Via, Fr., OF, Liberty
Autumn Bishop, So., 1B, Liberty (tie)
Katie Prebble, Fr., 1B, Gardner-Webb (tie)
Amber Bishop, So., 2B, Liberty
Caroline Smith, Jr., SS, Campbell
Rachel McCollum, R-So., 3B, Campbell
Kaylynn Batten, Jr., C, Longwood
Julia DiMartino, Jr., P, Liberty
Sydney Gay, Jr., P, Longwood
Lizabeth McCurry, R-Sr., DP, Campbell
Mallory Kasinger, So., UTL, Charleston Southern
Second Team All-Conference
Kaylee Wacaster, Jr., OF, Gardner-Webb
Annie Bakenhus, Jr., Charleston Southern
Tori Zavodny, Sr., OF, Liberty
Ansley Gilreath, So., 1B, Winthrop
Destiny Martinez, So., 2B, Longwood
Sarah Robertson, Jr., SS, Liberty
Jaclyn Amader, Jr., 3B, Liberty
Ashley Westbrooks, So., C, Winthrop
Chase Cassady, Jr., P, Liberty
Kiley Majette, Jr., P, Winthrop
Karleigh Donovan, Jr., DP, Longwood
Macy Hyatt, Fr., UTL, Presbyterian
Honorable Mention All-Conference
Jasmeen Click, Jr., OF, Liberty
Jordan Clark, Jr., OF, Longwood
Krista Kelly, Sr., OF, Longwood
Abby Morrow, Sr., P, Radford
Kayla Huffman, Jr., P, Radford
All-Freshman Team
Katie Prebble, 1B, Gardner-Webb
Sydney Backstrom, P, Longwood
Madison Via, OF, Liberty
Talia Douglas, 3B, Radford
Katie Manring, INF, Campbell
Katie Stettler, SS, Gardner-Webb
Sarah Brown, 3B, Charleston Southern
Macy Hyatt, UTL, Presbyterian
Bri Bryant, OF, Campbell
Jenna Dunn, OF, Longwood
Meghan Gagliano, OF, Charleston Southern
Brianna Mills, INF/P, Radford
All-Academic Team
Caroline Smith, Jr., SS, Campbell
Laina Holmgren, Sr., UTL, Charleston Southern
Ashley Wark, Sr., P, Gardner-Webb
Jessica Cicerchia, Sr., 2B, Liberty
Jessica Smith, Jr., 3B, Longwood
Jonnie Petree, Jr., UTL, Presbyterian
Marissa Gagliano, Jr., SS, Radford
Blake Wallert, Jr., INF, Winthrop
Player of the Year – Katie Prebble, Fr., 1B, Gardner-Webb
Pitcher of the Year – Julia DiMartino, Jr., P, Liberty
Freshman of the Year – Katie Prebble, Fr., 1B, Gardner-Webb
Coach of the Year – Dot Richardson, Liberty
Scholar-Athlete of the Year – Caroline Smith, Jr., SS, Campbell
Liberty All-Conference Capsules
Amber Bishop - So., 2B (All-Conference first team) (Big South first team in 2017 and 2018)
2018 Big South Preseason Player of the Year Amber Bishop ranks in the top five in the Big South, both overall and in conference play, in batting average, hits, doubles, total bases and slugging percentage. She has batted .441 with five homers and 14 RBI in conference play. Overall, she has posted 25 multiple-hit games and 10 multiple-RBI contests. She was named Big South Player of the Week on April 23
Autumn Bishop, So., 1B (All-Conference first team) (Big South first team in 2017 and 2018)
A two-time first team all-conference player, Autumn Bishop is currently tied for the national lead in both doubles (24) and sacrifice flies (7). She went on a 20-game hitting streak earlier this season. In conference play, she batted a team-best .444 (third in the Big South, with 12 doubles (1st) and 14 RBI. She was twice named Big South Player of the Week this year. She has posted 19 multiple-hit games on the season.
Julia DiMartino - Jr., P (Pitcher of the Year (2017 and 2018); All-Conference first team) (Three-time Big South first team)
Julia DiMartino, a three-time first-team all-conference selection and two-time Big South Pitcher of the Year, is the only Big South pitcher in the top 10 nationally in wins, shutouts and saves. She once pitched 35 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings, and has set program records for (25), shutouts (9) and saves (6). In conference play, DiMartino is 11-1, leading the Big South in ERA (1.11), shutouts (4), strikeouts (84) and opponents' batting average (.190).
Madison Via – Fr., OF (All-Conference first team, All-Freshman team)
Madison Via went on a tear during Liberty's 14-game winning streak to end the regular season, batting .529 (18-for-34) with 10 runs scored, nine stolen bases and a .610 on-base percentage during that stretch. In conference play, she batted .407 (6th in Big South) with eight stolen bases (t-3rd), a .484 on-base percentage (7th) and 12 RBI. For the season, she has posted 13 multiple-hit games and seven multiple-RBI contests.
Jaclyn Amader - Jr., 3B (All-Conference second team) (Big South second team in 2016 (OF) and 2018 (3B))
Junior Jaclyn Amader, an all-conference outfielder as a freshman, has had a tremendous bounce-back season in her first year at third base. She leads the Big South with seven triples, tying for fifth nationally. She ranks third on the team with 15 multiple-hit games, including one three-hit contest, and has posted seven multiple-RBI games. A clutch player, she has recorded both a walk-off hit and a walk-off run scored this season.
Chase Cassady – Jr., P (All-Conference second team)
Chase Cassady went undefeated (4-0) in Big South play, tossing two complete-game shutouts against conference teams. She has pitched three straight shutouts overall, a shutout innings streak of 17 entering the conference tournament. In her final seven starts of the regular season, Cassady went 6-0 with a 0.76 ERA, four shutouts and a .160 opponents' batting average. In conference play, she led the Big South in strikeouts per seven innings, ranking second in ERA (1.77).
Sarah Robertson - Jr., SS (All-Conference second team) (Big South second team in 2017 and 2018)
A two-time Big South All-Conference second team selection, Sarah Robertson bats .317 overall and is ranked fourth in the Big South with 16 doubles, matching her doubles total from all of last year. A strong defender at shortstop, she is tied for fourth in the conference with 105 assists. She has registered 12 multiple-hit games and is tied for the team lead with 10 multiple-RBI contests. Robertson scored a program-record four runs against Campbell, March 18.
Tori Zavodny – Sr., OF (All-Conference second team) (Four-time All-Big South)
Tori Zavodny, a four-time All-Big South outfielder, was among the league leaders in several categories when she sustained a knee injury against Campbell in mid-March. She made it back to play in the final week of the regular season, getting a hit and an RBI against Virginia on Tuesday. For the year, she bats .353, and despite missing nearly half the year, ranks second in the Big South with four triples.
Jasmeen Click – Jr., OF (All-Conference honorable mention) (Two-time All-Big South)
Jasmeen Click, a 2017 Big South All-Conference second team selection, has had a strong conference season this year, batting .317 in Big South games. Overall, she has posted six multiple-hit games on the season. Click has stolen 11 bases, her second straight season with double-digit steals. She has scored two runs three times, most recently against Charleston Southern on April 21. Click has not committed an error in center field, spanning 45 chances.
Jessica Cicerchia – Sr., 2B (All-Academic team)
Carrying a 3.78 GPA as a nursing major, Jessica Cicerchia is a two-time NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete honoree. A native of Seymour, Conn., she recorded two two-hit games down the stretch, and is batting 5-for-10 (.500) for the season. A three-time member of the Big South Presidential Honor Roll, she has filled in with strong play at second base and at the plate late in the season.
