By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information Coordinator
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – A night before the OVC Tournament begins, four members of the Tennessee Tech softball team were honored for their tremendous regular seasons during Tuesday evening's OVC Awards Banquet.
Sophomore Danielle Liberatore secured a spot on the All-OVC First Team, senior Angi Sakamoto was named to the All-OVC Second Team, and junior Sabrie Neeb along with freshman Bayli Cruse were part of the OVC All-Newcomer Team.
Liberatore becomes the first Golden Eagle to earn a spot on the All-OVC First Team since Holly Thomas accomplished the feat in 2012. The honor should come as little surprise after the talented sophomore pitcher dominated throughout the course of the regular season, finishing second in the conference in both ERA (2.18) and strikeouts (232). The Peotone, Ill. native, who went 15-11 with six shutouts and three saves, also made her mark on the Tech record books with a trio of history-making performances.
With 16 strikeouts in a win against UT Martin on Mar. 22, 15 against Eastern Illinois on Apr. 4, and then a school-record 17 against Morehead State on May 2, Liberatore became the first pitcher in program history to notch at least three 15-strikeout games in a career…let alone a season.
Outfielder Angi Sakamoto makes it back-to-back seasons on the All-OVC Second Team, becoming the first Golden Eagle to earn a spot on the All-OVC First or Second Team in consecutive seasons since Beth Boden and Stephanie Fischer both took home the achievement in 2007 and 2008.
Sakamoto put up a stellar campaign that saw the Waipahu, Hawaii native hit .305 with 15 doubles, six home runs, 21 RBI, and a club-best nine stolen bases. The 15 two-baggers put her in fifth place in the OVC.
Sabrie Neeb's spot on the OVC All-Newcomer team is quite deserving, as it would be hard pressed to find anyone that swung the bat better during the latter portion of the regular season. In the last 21 games, the Front Royal, Va. native is hitting an impressive .403 (25-62), including pacing Tech with 25 hits, six home runs, seven doubles, and two triples during that stretch.
Overall, Neeb ended the regular season with a .316 batting average to go along with a team-leading .643 slugging percentage.
Bayli Cruse burst on the scene as a freshman catcher and first baseman, hitting a solid .277 with four home runs and 20 RBI en route to an OVC All-Newcomer selection. The Cohutta, Ga. native finished second on the Golden Eagles with 12 RBI in conference-only games, and also posted eight multi-hit games in OVC action as well.
Tech will begin its quest for a seventh OVC Tournament championship on Wednesday at 3 p.m. CT, clashing with No. 5 Eastern Kentucky in the third game of the day at Cougar Field, site of the top-seeded SIU Edwardsville Cougars. A win in the double-elimination format would push the Golden Eagles to a Thursday, 3 p.m. matchup with the winner of No. 1 SIUE and No. 8 Morehead State, while a loss would pin Tech against the SIUE-Morehead loser in a 5:30 p.m. elimination-game, also on Thursday.
Live video of all TTU contests will be available, free of charge, on the OVC Digital Network. CLICK HERE TO WATCH. Radio broadcasts of the first two games will also be available via the Golden Eagle Sports Network through FM 106.1 The Eagle and on the internet. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN.
