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2010 All State University Softball Team Named |
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Thursday, June 17, 2010 |
 DURHAM, N.C. – The North Carolina Collegiate Sports Information Association (NCCSIA) announced its 13-member All-State University Division Softball Team Thursday with Southern Conference-members Elon University and the University of North Carolina Greensboro combining for seven student-athletes on the team.
North Carolina sports information professionals submitted the nominations and NCCSIA members voted for the all-state team. Teams were selected for both baseball and softball at both the college and university divisions.
The seventh-annual university team consists of 13 student-athletes, comprised of five infielders, due to a tie, three outfielders, one catcher, two pitchers, one designated player and one utility player from six different North Carolina NCAA Division I universities.
Elon, who earned their first postseason appearance in program history after claiming its first-ever conference championship, led the way with four student-athletes on the team, followed by SoCon runner-up UNC Greensboro with a trio of honorees. The Charlotte 49ers and East Carolina University each had a pair of honorees, while Gardner-Webb University and the University of North Carolina Wilmington rounded out the squad with one representative each.
2010 NCCSIA All-State Softball Team (University Division)
Pos Name School Class Hometown
P Emily Jeffery * Charlotte Senior Matthews, N.C.
P Toni Paisley East Carolina Junior Lakewood, Calif.
C Kaitlyn Piazzolla Elon Sophomore South Bound Brook, N.J.
IF Alex Emeterio UNC Greensboro Sophomore Murrieta, Calif.
IF Christa Fullwood * Gardner-Webb Senior Wilmington, N.C.
IF Kaitlin Merkt UNC Greensboro R-Junior Irvine, Calif.
IF Charina Sumner East Carolina Senior Kailua, Hawai’i
IF Morgan Walters UNC Wilmington Senior Fuquay-Varina, N.C.
OF Emerald Graham Elon Junior Newburgh, Ind.
OF Serena Smith * Charlotte Senior Mooresville, N.C.
OF Tomeka Watson Elon Freshman Jackson, Ga.
DP Eileen Horsmon UNC Greensboro Freshman Dunkirk, Md.
U Erin O’Shea Elon Sophomore South Bound Brook, N.J.
* - 2009 NCCSIA All-State selection
Elon’s Emerald Graham (pictured), Erin O’Shea, Kaitlyn Piazzolla and Tomeka Watson will add another accolade to their memorable 2010 season, where they helped the Phoenix to a program-best 38-21 record, earned the program’s first-ever conference title and made its first appearance in the postseason.
Graham was a first-team All-Southern Conference selection after hitting a .345 clip with 47 runs, 44 RBIs, seven doubles, two triples and nine home runs. She notched a team-best .559 slugging percentage, while standing perfect on the base path, swiping 16-of-16 bases. Her .345 average was the sixth-best in the conference.
O’Shea was a first-team NFCA All-Region selection as both a pitcher and utility player, while also racking in a Southern Conference All-Tournament Team honor. In the circle, she notched a 2.78 ERA with a 17-10 record with one save in 166.0 innings pitched, while leading the team in strikeouts with 112. At the plate, she hit .252 with 24 RBIs and two home runs.
Piazzolla was a beast behind the plate for the Phoenix this season, earning her a first-team All-Southern Conference honor and a SoCon All-Tournament Team selection. She notched a .295 average after belting a team-high 11 home runs, including a grand slam. All but three of those came with at least one runner on base. The catcher drove in 38 runs and had six doubles.
Watson earns her fifth honor as a true freshman for the Phoenix after taking home All-Freshman, All-Tournament and second-team All-Conference honors. She started in all 54 games this season and became the first Elon softball player to be named the SoCon Freshman of the Year. Watson led the Phoenix and all league freshmen with a .373 average with 30 RBIs, six doubles, one triple and nine home runs. She committed just one error in 90 chances at left field.
UNC Greensboro sits with the second-most student-athletes on the team as they are represented by Alex Emeterio, Eileen Horsmon and Kaitlin Merkt, who each helped lead the Spartans to a SoCon championship appearance, where they fell to Elon. The Spartans earned their first winning league record and notched their highest SoCon finish since 2003.
Emeterio posted the second best batting average out of the all-state nominees with a .382. She was named to the NFCA All-Mideast Region First-Team, while also claiming first-team conference honors and All-Tournament Team honors. She led the Spartans in just about every offensive category, while standing second in doubles and RBIs. Emeterio posted career highs in every category but triples and walks and moved into the top-10 in the UNCG record books for career average, slugging percentage and walks. She also posted the sixth-best average and eighth-most hits in single-season school history.
Horsmon is also a well-decorated Spartan this season after claiming a second-team All-Southern Conference honor, a SoCon All-Freshman Team honor and a SoCon All-Tournament Team selection after finishing second on the team in batting average, hits, home runs and on-base percentage. She notched a .326 with 21 RBIs, six doubles, one triple and six home runs.
Merkt, a 2010 Preseason 2010 All-Southern Conference Second Team selection, led UNCG in home runs and RBIs with 11 and 38, respectively. She was second in hits, slugging and walks, while sitting third in runs and doubles. She posted career highs in homers, RBIs and doubles, while moving into fourth in school history in career home runs with 23. Merkt also hit the fourth-most homers in a single season in UNCG history with her 11 round-tippers.
Charlotte and East Carolina each had a pair of honorees on the team as the 49ers were led by stellar pitcher and repeat all-state selection Emily Jeffery and another repeat all-state honoree in Serena Smith. East Carolina, who played for its first regional title in program history this postseason and notched a 44-17 record, was led by Conference USA Pitcher of the Year Toni Paisley and infielder Charina Sumner. Both Jeffery and Paisley were unanimous votes to the team.
Jeffery showed once again why she dominates in the circle with her second consecutive all-state honor to go along with her All-Atlantic 10 Second Team selection. She once again destroyed the 49er record books, setting the single-season (342), career (782) and single-game (17) record for strikeouts. She notched a 1.57 ERA with a 23-11 record. Her 23 wins rank as the third-most in a single season, while her 12 shutouts rank as the most by a 49er. Her 26 career shutouts are a school record.
Smith, another familiar name to the all-state team, joined Jeffery on the All-Atlantic 10 Second Team this season and was also named to the All-Academic Team. She notched a .332 average with 51 RBIs, four doubles, four triples and seven home runs. The outfielder broke a single-season record for RBIs, while also breaking the career RBI record with 126. At the dish, she led the 49ers in triples, home runs, RBIs, slugging percentage and total bases. She ended her 49er career among the top-10 in batting average, hits, home runs, RBIs and runs scored.
For East Carolina, Paisley was unstoppable in the circle, sitting batters down left and right with 356 strikeouts, an East Carolina single-season strikeout record. She was a Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I Mideast All-Region First Team selection, while also being named the Conference USA Pitcher of the Year and a earning her second-straight first-team All-C-USA honor. Paisley was also the C-USA Tournament Most Valuable Player. She is the NCAA leader in shutouts with 22 and ranks third in the NCAA in ERA with a 1.09, while being the school’s career-record holder in shutouts with 45.
A second-team All-Conference USA honoree, Sumner led the Pirates in hits, doubles and triples, while finishing second on the squad in batting average with a .332. She produced a team-best 15 multiple-hit games and an ECU second-best seven multiple RBI contests. She ranks fourth in program history in triples, fifth in hits and sixth in runs scored, while ranking third all time in C-USA in triples. Sumner totaled 23 RBIs, 14 doubles, five triples and three home runs.
Rounding out the university all-state team is Christa Fullwood of Gardner-Webb and Morgan Walters of UNC Wilmington. The Bulldogs finished with a 22-32 record on the season, while the Seahawks earned a 10-41 mark.
Fullwood is another repeat all-state honoree and a unanimous vote on this year’s squad after notching a blistering .389 batting average with 47 RBIs, 11 doubles, two triples and 10 home runs, which earned her a first-team All-Big South honor. She led GWU in nine offensive categories, while also earning a .992 fielding percentage to lead on defense. Fullwood led the Big South in on-base percentage (.473) and was second in average and RBIs. She was also a Lowes Senior Class Award Finalist.
Concluding the 2010 all-state team is Walters, a second-team All-Colonial Athletic Association selection for the third time in her career. She led the Seahawks in batting average, slugging percentage, hits, total bases and on-base percentage. Her .368 average was a career high for Walters as she finished her career in ninth place on the all-time hits list (177) and tied for sixth in career doubles (31). Defensively, she ranks ninth in assists with 278 in her career.
Founded in 2002, NCCSIA is comprised of sports information professionals from North Carolina’s NCAA Division I, II, III, NAIA and independent institutions for the purpose of promoting college athletics in the state. Membership is open to anyone affiliated with a college, university or conference located in North Carolina whose responsibilities include sports information.
NCCSIA selects all-state teams in the university (NCAA Division I) and college (Division II, III, NAIA) divisions for women’s volleyball, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s soccer, softball and baseball. More than 500 student-athletes have been recognized on all-state teams since 2003.
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