Marshall University Athletics
Five @HerdSB Players Named to All-C-USA Team
5/6/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. -- Marshall infielder Elicia D'Orazio (Clermont, Fla.) earned the Conference USA Freshman of the Year Award and joined a total of five Herd softball players named to the All-Conference USA teams, the league office announced today.
Marshall led all C-USA schools with five players named to the first and second teams. Â Selections were made by the 12 conference softball head coaches.
D'Orazio and sophomore outfielder Morgan Zerkle (Milton, W.Va.) Â were named to the All-C-USA first team. Senior outfielder Emileigh Cooper (Jackson, Ohio), junior infielder Shaelynn Braxton (Woodbridge, Va.) and sophomore pitcher Jordan Dixon (Edmond, Okla.) were second team selections.
D'Orazio joins former Thundering Herd standouts Stephanie Cook, Amanda Williams and Rachel Folden as Marshall softball athletes to win a conference Freshman of the Year honor . Cook received the award from the Southern Conference, while Folden and Williams won in the Mid-American Conference. She was also named to the All-Freshman team.
Entering the Conference USA Tournament, D'Orazio is third in batting average in league play (.358) and is tied with teammate Kaelynn Greene for fourth in hits (33). The freshman has started every game for the Herd this season, primarily at second base.
Zerkle's 88 hits lead NCAA Division I (setting the single-season Marshall record), while her .512 batting average is ranked No. 2 in Division I (among players with 100 or more at-bats). Zerkle also leads the nation in stolen bases, with 47 (one shy of her own school record). She also is ranked No. 10 in Division I with 62 runs. She leads Conference USA play with 25 runs.
Cooper is having a career year at Marshall and boasts the second highest batting average on the team (.442). She also has the fourth highest hit total (53) and has three home runs. She has the fifth highest average (.448) in conference play and third best on-base percentage (.536).
Braxton is batting .342 and leads the team with 56 RBI, which is tied with Folden for No. 2 in a Herd single season. She also has five homers this season, tied for the team lead. Braxton also has 25 runs and 20 stolen bases. Â She is a repeat selection to the all-C-USA second team from 2014.
Dixon's 33 wins lead Division I and she is tied for most in a Marshall season (Andi Williamson, 2013). Dixon also ranks fourth nationally and second in Conference USA with 302 strikeouts.
2015 Conference USA Softball Specialty Awards Pitcher of the Year:Â Miranda Kramer, WKU Player of the Year:Â Caitlin Attfield, UAB Freshman of the Year:Â Elicia D'Orazio, Marshall Newcomer of the Year:Â Miranda Kramer, WKU Coach of the Year:Â Amy Tudor, WKU
2015 All-Conference USA Team
First Team C -- Morgan Harris, Middle Tennessee IF -- Elicia D'Orazio, Marshall IF -- Caitlin Attfield, UAB IF -- Sara Beth Williamson, UAB IF -- Megan Low, UTSA OF -- Morgan Zerkle, Marshall OF -- Kat Strunk, North Texas OF -- Larissa Franklin, WKU DP -- Randee Crawford, UTSA UT - Kawehiokalani Netane, UTEP P -- Kylee Hanson, Florida Atlantic P -- Miranda Kramer, WKU
Second Team C -- Dani Pugh, WKU IF -- Stephanie Texeira, FIU IF -- Emily Lochten, Florida Atlantic IF -- Melissa Martinez, Florida Atlantic IF -- Shaelynn Braxton, Marshall OF -- Emileigh Cooper, Marshall OF -- Ashley Eldridge, UTEP OF -- Kendall Burton, UTSA UT -- JoJo Fallen, UAB P -- Lexi Betancourt, Charlotte P -- Jordan Dixon, Marshall
2015 Conference USA All-Freshman Team Ashley Belans, FIU Emily Lochten, Florida Atlantic Karlee Jensen, Louisiana Tech Bailey Allen, Louisiana Tech Elicia D'Orazio, Marshall Cor'Nisha Birdsong, Middle Tennessee Morgan Harris, Middle Tennessee Megan Smith, UAB Courtney Clayton, UTEP Kendall Burton, UTSA Carleigh Chaumont, WKU
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