Trojans Rack Up Nine All-Crossroads League Softball Awards
UPLAND, Ind. – Seven Taylor softball team members collected a total of nine All-Crossroads League awards, as announced by the league office on Wednesday. The Trojans led the league with four representatives on the 11-member Gold Glove Team, while their four honorees on the All-League Team trailed only regular-season champion Marian's five.
Seniors Alex Lovelace and Hannah Robbins each earned a spot on both the All-Crossroads League Team and the Gold Glove Team, while sophomores Hannah Castor and Courtney Moriarty joined Lovelace and Robbins on the All-Crossroads League Team. Senior Anna Gunderson was tabbed Honorable Mention All-Crossroads League and juniors Davis Carter and Cassie Kuizin were voted to the Gold Glove Team.
Lovelace netted All-Crossroads League Team and Gold Glove Team honors for the fourth-straight season. The center fielder currently leads TU with a .395 batting average, a .437 on-base percentage, 43 runs scored, two triples and 12 stolen bases, while ranking in the top-12 of the league in those categories. The Greenwood, Indiana native also set a new program record for most triples in a career (10) and is currently tied for the team record with 49 career doubles.
Robbins achieved All-Crossroads League Team and Gold Glove Team status for the second time in her four-year career wearing the purple and gold, setting TU records for most career wins (53) and shutouts (13) by a pitcher in the process. The Woodlan High product currently leads the Trojan pitching staff with a 16-3 record, a 2.15 earned-run average, 14 complete games and six shutouts in 21 appearances in the circle, while ranking in the top-five of the league in both wins and ERA. Robbins was named the Crossroads League Pitcher of the Week (April 17-23) for going 3-0 on the week with a 0.70 ERA, including a four-hit shutout in Taylor's program-best upset of No. 4 Marian on April 21.
Castor, the team's leader in hits (62) and runs batted in (47) this season, was voted to her first-career All-Crossroads League Team in her second year at Taylor. The North Vernon, Indiana native sits second on the team with a .390 batting average and 14 doubles, while blasting four home runs and posting a slugging percentage of .553.
Moriarty, along with Castor, earned her first-career All-Crossroads League Team selection. The right-handed hurler leads TU with 77 strikeouts in a team-high 116 innings from the circle, while also providing 10 doubles, a team-high nine dingers and a team-leading .610 slugging percentage at the plate. Her nine homers are currently fourth-most in the league this season.
Gunderson was named to the Honorable Mention All-Crossroads League Team for the first time in her four years at Taylor. The second baseman earned CL Player-of-the-Week honors (March 27- April 2) for going 11-20 at the plate with five runs, two doubles, a home run and six RBI in TU's 6-0 week. The Center Grove High product ranks top-five in the league in doubles (15), while producing 51 hits, 34 runs and an on-base percentage of .436 in 2017.
Carter notched the first Gold Glove Team award of her three-year tenure at TU, while being named Crossroads League Player of the Week (April 17-23) for providing all of Taylor's runs in a 2-0 upset of No. 4 Marian with a two-run home run. The Trojan catcher is second on the team in homers (8), RBI (36) and slugging percentage (.605) and one of only five players in the Crossroads League to have a perfect fielding percentage on the season.
Kuizin, a transfer from Heartland Community College, received Gold Glove Team honors in her first season with the Trojans. The shortstop ranks second on the team in runs scored (38), while collecting 40 hits and 11 doubles and tying for the team-lead with 12 stolen bases.
The 2017 campaign continues for the RV and second-seeded Trojans (36-15), as they will face No. 8 seed Spring Arbor (19-35) in an elimination game of the Crossroads League Tournament on Saturday at 1:00 pm at Marian University.