KINGSVILLE– The Texas A&M University-Commerce softball team walked away with a program-record 13 awards at the annual Lone Star Conference championship banquet held Thursday. Emily Otto was named the LSC Pitcher of the Year, becoming the first Lion in history to win the honor.
 
Otto and third baseman Madison Schaefer were named First Team All-LSC, while outfielder Kayla Kilcrease, shortstop Chealsea Slider, and first baseman Bri Sims were named Second Team All-LSC and second baseman Jodie Hill, outfielder Vanessa Muro, designated player Kinsie Hebler, and catcher Avery Boley earned Third Team All-LSC honors. In addition, Kilcrease and Ciera Nunez were named to the All-Academic team, and Otto, Kilcrease, Schaefer, and Hill all won the league's Gold Glove at their respective positions.
 
After earning Second Team All-LSC honors and breaking numerous pitching records in her freshman campaign, Otto improved on her already stellar numbers during the 2019 season. The sophomore from Richmond (Lamar Consolidated) set single-season program records for wins (25), strikeouts (148), shutouts (10), and complete games (21) and led the conference and the region in wins. She was named LSC Pitcher of the Week a league-high four times and was twice named National Pitcher of the Week. She is currently a top-25 finalist for National Fastpitch Coaches Association National Player of the Year.
 
Otto went 25-6 on the year, leading the LSC in wins, complete games, shutouts, and innings pitched, and had a league-best 3.9-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. She finished third in the nation in wins and fifth in shutouts during the regular season. Otto held hitters to a .193 average with a 1.92 ERA and struck out 148 batters against just 38 walks. It is the second All-LSC honor of her career and her second Gold Glove.
 
Schaefer – a freshman from Frisco (Independence) ­– began the season in right field before jumping into her current role at third base. She flourished right off the bat, hitting .345 on the season with nine home runs, 38 runs scored, and 27 RBIs while slugging .709. Schaefer's numbers increased as she entered conference play, hitting .389 against LSC competition. Also a factor on the defensive end at the hot corner, Schaefer had a .968 fielding percentage with 35 putouts and 55 assists and helped turn four double plays. This is the first All-LSC award of her career and her first Gold Glove.
 
Kilcrease– a senior from Kerens­– had an impressive senior campaign both as a defensive presence in center field and at the plate. She finished with a perfect fielding percentage, recording 81 putouts and four outfield assists. She made multiple diving catches on the year, robbing batters of hits left and right with her wide range. On offense, Kilcrease led the Lions and ranked sixth in the LSC with 46 runs scored. She hit eight homers and nine doubles with a .435 on-base percentage and hit .333 in conference. She set career highs in hits, runs scored, doubles, homers and steals. This is the second All-LSC award of her career and her first Gold Glove.
 
Sims – a senior from Rowlett – was the top RBI producer on the best-scoring offense in the LSC. She led the Lions and was fourth in the LSC with 14 home runs. She also ranked fifth in the league in walks (29), seventh in RBIs (46) and seventh in slugging percentage (.731), while also hitting .354 on the year. Sims was also a major factor on the Lion defense at first base, recording 231 putouts and 11 assists. She was a part of 13 double plays, which ranked second in the LSC, and had a .988 fielding percentage, one of the top marks for her position. Sims set career highs in hits, runs scored, home runs, RBIs, and walks. This is the first All-LSC award of her career.
 
Slider ­– a junior from Texarkana (Texas HS) – was lights out for the Lions, leading all shortstops in the LSC with a .985 fielding percentage. She recorded 55 putouts and 74 assists and turned five double plays, helping to anchor the top fielding defense in all of Division II. Slider hit .342 in conference games with a .430 on-base percentage and 38 hits, eight doubles, two homers and 21 RBIs during the regular season. This is the second All-LSC award of her career.
 
Muro – a senior from Oak Hills, Calif. ­– was another offensive leader for the Lions, recording 43 RBIs and led the team with three grand slams. In conference games, Muro ranked third in the LSC in RBIs. She hit .327 in the regular season with 32 hits and nine home runs and had an on-base percentage of .476 and a slugging percentage of .653. No slouch on the defensive end, Muro had a perfect fielding percentage with 33 putouts. She set career highs in hits, homers, RBIs, walks, and runs scored. This is the first All-LSC award of her career.
 
Hill – a junior from Heavener, Okla. – led all second basemen in the LSC in fielding percentage, helping anchor the top fielding defense in the nation. She recorded 123 putouts and 51 assists and helped turn nine double plays and did not record an error in conference games. Hill also was a potent bat in the Lion lineup, recording 12 home runs, which ranked ninth in the LSC. The speedster ranked second in the LSC with 24 stolen bases and led the Lions with six go-ahead RBIs on the year. She set career highs for home runs, runs scored and stolen bases. This is the first All-LSC award of her career and her first Gold Glove.
 
Hebler – a junior from Cypress (Cy-Fair) – hit .347 in conference games and ranked third in the league with 31 walks. She had 32 hits, seven doubles, nine home runs and 38 RBIs. Hebler also made nine appearances in the circle, striking out 13 batters and was part of a pair of Lion shutout wins. After her grand slam in the final game of the regular season, Hebler became the program's all-time leader in RBIs and earned the final LSC Hitter of the Week award of the season. This is the third All-LSC award of her career.
 
Boley­ – a freshman from Fort Worth (Nolan Catholic) ­­– burst onto the scene late in the year for the Lions, but made her impact felt immediately. She led the team with a .385 average and hit eight home runs and 28 RBIs in 27 games played. In conference games, Boley hit .450, which ranked second in the league. She also slugged a team high .904 with a .487 on-base percentage. Behind the plate, Boley recorded 99 putouts and five assists and caught four runners stealing. This is the first All-LSC award of her career.

Nunez – a senior from Amarillo (Randall) – is on the LSC All-Academic team for the third consecutive year. Nunez became the program's all-time leader in runs scored, hitting .366 during the regular season with 15 hits and has scored 18 runs this season, while also stealing six bases.
 
The No. 7 Lions are the second seed in the LSC Championship Tournament and have earned a bye into the semifinal round. They will return to action on Friday at 4 p.m., facing the winner of West Texas A&M and Angelo State, which will be played earlier in the day. The LSC Championship game will be played on Saturday at 2 p.m. All tournament games will be played at Vernie and Blanche Hubert Field in Kingsville.
 
2018 Lone Star Conference Softball All-Conference Awards
SPECIAL AWARDS
Pitcher of the Year: Emily Otto, Texas A&M-Commerce
Player of the Year: Kylee Moore, West Texas A&M
Academic Player of the Year: Jordan Withrow, Tarleton
Freshmen of the Year: Saidi Castillo, Texas A&M-Kingsville
                                       Khmari Edwards, Cameron
Newcomer of the Year: Hatty Shope, Angelo State
Coach of the Year: Craig Nicholson, Texas A&M-Kingsville
 
FIRST TEAM ALL-LSC

Name	School	Pos.	Yr.	Hometown
Shanna McBroom	West Texas A&M	C	Jr.	Sachse, Texas
Taegan Kirk	Angelo State	C	Sr.	Lubbock, Texas
Callie Busby	Cameron	C	Jr.	Washington, Okla.
Kylee Moore	West Texas A&M	1B	Sr.	Van, Texas
Khmari Edwards	Cameron	2B	Fr.	Del City, Okla.
Victoria Schoonard-Saborio	Texas A&M-Kingsville	2B	Sr.	Elk Grove, Calif.
Brenna Busby	Cameron	SS	Jr.	Washington, Okla.
Anastasia Liebas	Texas A&M-Kingsville	SS	So.	Del Valle, Texas
Madison Schaefer	A&M-COMMERCE	3B	Fr.	Frisco, Texas
Courtney Barnhill	Angelo State	OF	Jr.	Lubbock, Texas
Georgia Capell	Tarleton	OF	So.	Midlothian, Texas
Tanna Huie	Tarleton	OF	Sr.	Paris, Texas
Ruby Salzman	West Texas A&M	OF	Fr.	Northridge, Calif.
Loren Kelly	Texas A&M-Kingsville	OF	So.	Rockport, Texas
Emily Otto	A&M- COMMERCE	P	So.	Richmond, Texas
Jordan Withrow	Tarleton	P	Jr.	Trenton, Texas
Saidi Castillo	Texas A&M-Kingsville	P	Fr.	Kingsville, Texas
Breanna Smith	Texas A&M-Kingsville	P	Jr.	San Antonio, Texas
Destiny Crumpley	Tarleton	DP	Jr.	Little Elm, Texas
Shayne Starkey	West Texas A&M	UTL	Sr.	Denton, Texas

 
SECOND TEAM ALL-LSC

Name	School	Pos.	Yr.	Hometown
Roxy Chapa	Texas A&M-Kingsville	C	Sr.	McAllen, Texas
Bri Sims	A&M- COMMERCE	1B	Sr.	Rowlett, Texas
Taylor Fogle	Angelo State	1B	Sr.	Pico Rivera, Calif.
Amanda Conner	Tarleton	1B	Sr.	Allen, Texas
Tylia Sylestine	Texas Woman's	1B	Sr.	Livingston, Texas
Paige Tamayo	Texas Woman's	2B	Fr.	Fort Worth, Texas
Chealsea Slider	A&M- COMMERCE	SS	Jr.	Texarkana, Ark.
Alyx Cordell	West Texas A&M	SS	Jr.	Canyon, Texas
Karli Herron	Tarleton	3B	Sr.	Hot Springs, Ark.
Kourtney Coveney	West Texas A&M	3B	Sr.	Katy, Texas
Kayla Kilcrease	A&M- COMMERCE	OF	Sr.	Kerens, Texas
Meagan Hill	Angelo State	P	Jr.	Salado, Texas
Bethany Hines	Cameron	P	Jr.	Washington, Okla.
Rylee Willmon	Cameron	P	Jr.	Luther, Okla.
Breley Webb	Cameron	UTL	Fr.	Yukon, Okla.

 
THIRD TEAM ALL-LSC

Name	School	Pos.	Yr.	Hometown
Avery Boley	A&M- COMMERCE	C	Fr.	Fort Worth, Texas
Veronica Chavez	Texas A&M-Kingsville	1B	Fr.	Tempe, Ariz.
Jodie Hill	A&M- COMMERCE	2B	Jr.	Heavener, Okla.
Avery Williams	Texas Woman's	SS	So.	Denton, Texas
Vanessa Muro	A&M- COMMERCE	OF	Sr.	Oak Hills, Calif.
Kaylyn Smith	Cameron	OF	Jr.	Cache, Okla.
Iliana Mendoza	Eastern New Mexico	OF	Fr.	Tucson, Ariz.
Lauren Lindgren	MSU Texas	OF	Jr.	Denton, Texas
Amber Reyes	Texas A&M-Kingsville	OF	Fr.	Edinburg, Texas
Alicia Marion	UT Permian Basin	OF	Fr.	Hurst, Texas
Brittany Cruz	West Texas A&M	OF	Jr.	New Braunfels, Texas
Ariana Maldonado	Western New Mexico	OF	Sr.	Albuquerque, New Mexico
Kyra Lair	West Texas A&M	P	Fr.	Canyon, Texas
Kinsie Hebler	A&M- COMMERCE	DP	Jr.	Cypress, Texas
Karina Rocha	Angelo State	DP	Jr.	Buda, Texas
Morgan Ling	Tarleton	UTL	Jr.	Waco, Texas

 
2019 GOLD GLOVE AWARDS

Name	School	Pos.	Yr.	Hometown
Taegan Kirk	Angelo State	C	Sr.	Lubbock, Texas
Kylee Moore	West Texas A&M	1B	Sr.	Van, Texas
Jodie Hill	A&M-COMMERCE	2B	Jr.	Heavener, Okla.
Brenna Busby	Cameron	SS	Jr.	Washington, Okla.
Madison Schaefer	A&M-COMMERCE	3B	Fr.	Frisco, Texas
Kayla Kilcrease	A&M- COMMERCE	OF	Sr.	Kerens, Texas
Courtney Barnhill	Angelo State	OF	Jr.	Lubbock, Texas
Ruby Salzman	West Texas A&M	OF	Fr.	Northridge, Calif.
Loren Kelly	Texas A&M-Kingsville	OF	So.	Rockport, Texas
Brittany Cruz	West Texas A&M	OF	Jr.	New Braunfels, Texas
Emily Otto	A&M- COMMERCE	P	So.	Richmond, Texas
Jordan Withrow	Tarleton	P	Jr.	Trenton, Texas

 
2019 LSC SOFTBALL ALL-ACADEMIC AWARDS

Name	School	Yr.	Pos.	Major	Hometown
Megan Gordon	Angelo State	Jr.	OF	Animal Science	Flower Mound, Texas
Courtney Barnhill	Angelo State	Jr.	OF	Nursing	Lubbock, Texas
Meagan Hill	Angelo State	So.	P	Civil Engineering	Salado, Texas
Kayla Marshall	Eastern New Mexico	So.	OF	Forensic Science	Albuquerque, New Mexico
Lauren Lindgren	MSU Texas	Jr.	OF	Elementary Education	Denton, Texas
Jordan Withrow	Tarleton	Jr.	P	Kinesiology	Trenton, Texas
Georgia Capell	Tarleton	So.	OF	Kinesiology	Midlothian, Texas
Ciera Nunez	A&M-COMMERCE	Sr.	OF	Human Performance	Amarillo, Texas
Kayla Kilcrease	A&M-COMMERCE	Sr.	OF	Human Performance	Kerens, Texas