GREENVILLE, S.C. - Lees-McRae softball freshman
Grayson Buckner was named the Conference Carolinas Freshman of the Year while head coach
Kendall Fuller was tabbed Coach of the Year as announced by the conference office today.
Buckner was joined by
Megan Powell on the All-Conference Carolinas Second Team and
Julie Gast garnered an All-Defensive Team selection at shortstop.
In her third season with the Lees-McRae softball program, Fuller led the Bobcats to a 30-16 overall record and 17-7 in league contests. Fuller joins Tom Creola and Merritt Yackey who have been tabbed Conference Carolinas Coach of the Year at the helm of the Bobcat softball program. The 30 wins in the regular season is also tied for the most wins in program history since Lees-McRae went 30-14 in 1999. Fuller also earned her 100th career coaching victory on April 15 in a sweep at Chowan.
Buckner, a freshman from Elkview, West Virginia, led the Bobcats in batting average (.459), hits (61), slugging percentage (.752), on-base percentage (.490), and on-base plus slugging percentage (1.242) this season. Buckner, who was named Lees-McRae Athletics Freshman of the Year on Tuesday, collected Conference Carolinas Freshman of the Month in March after combining for 27 hits and ended the month on a nine-game hitting streak for the Bobcats.
Powell, a sophomore from Eden, North Carolina, was named to the All-Conference Carolinas Second Team after leading the Bobcats pitching staff with a 3.51 earned-run average in 33 appearances on the season. Powell tallied 159 strikeouts in the 2023 campaign and had a record of 16-6 in the circle. Powell threw the fifth no-hitter in program history on April 15 at Chowan and struck out a season-high 14 batters in a 5-0 win over Converse on March 21. Powell also compiled 13 complete games, which was tied for fourth among Conference Carolinas pitchers.
Gast, a senior from Taylorsville, North Carolina, was honored on the All-Defensive Team this afternoon at shortstop for the Bobcats. Gast had a .962 fielding percentage for Lees-McRae in 46 starts at shortstop and assisted in 11 double plays for the Bobcats. The 116 assists for Gast is the most among Conference Carolinas players and Gast now holds the program record with 454 assists in her playing career at Lees-McRae.
The Bobcats will take the field at the Conference Carolinas Softball Championship this evening at 8 p.m. against the winner of Mount Olive/Erskine in Duncan, South Carolina.
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