By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – With the COVID-shortened season in 2020, the Ohio Valley Conference teams really didn't get to know just how much of a presence Nicolle Nysted was for the Tennessee Tech softball team.
In 2021, however, they found out. Even with an injury midway through the OVC campaign that sidelined her for nine games, the sophomore from Kennesaw, Ga., led the Golden Eagles offensively and had a solid presence behind the plate.
On Wednesday, her efforts paid off as she earned a second-team all-OVC selection as well as a pick to the conference's all-newcomer team.
2020 freshmen were eligible for the 2021 all-newcomer team as the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out the 2020 conference schedule, making the 2021 season the first year of OVC competition for first- and second-year players.
Nysted ended the season with a team-best .340 average, collecting 32 hits in 94 at-bats. She led the team in runs batted in with 23, as well as home runs with eight. She also came home to score 14 times.
Defensively, she also posted the team's best fielding percentage among the starters, collecting 119 putouts, six assists and one error for a .992 efficiency rate.
In the first game of the Austin Peay series, Nysted was injured. After returning, she saw action in 12 games as a designated player or pinch-hitter. In those games, she hit .350 (7-for-20) with a double, two home runs and six RBI.
OVC Tournament top-seed Southeast Missouri took home two of the individual honors as pitcher Rachel Rook was named the league's Pitcher of the Year, while Mark Redburn took home the Coach of the Year award. Eastern Illinois' Megan Burton was named the Player of the Year, while Austin Peay's Jordan Benefield was the Freshman of the Year.
Rook finished the season with an 18-8 record and a 2.21 ERA, compiling 174 strikeouts to 30 walks, while opponents hit .191 against her. She had seven shutouts, 12 complete games and four saves across 146 frames of work.
Burton was a .324 hitter this season, picking up 46 RBI with 18 home runs and nine doubles. She also stole 16 bases in 19 attempts. Benefield had an 8-6 record in the circle, posting a 1.78 ERA with 77 strikeouts in her rookie campaign.
Photo | Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
