FULTON, Miss. – Six Itawamba Community College softball players earned postseason honors following a historic season, and Head Coach Andy Kirk received the MACJC Coach of the Year honor for the second consecutive year.
Olivia Burns (Grenada), Mattie Meine (Olive Branch), Samantha Conley (Mandeville, La.), Macey Cox (Troy, Tenn.), Summer Cryder (Tupelo) and Rachel Sternisha (Olive Branch) all received postseason honors after helping the Indians to the program's first NJCAA National Tournament appearance and MACJC Tournament Championship.
Burns, Conley and Meine were all selected to the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) All-State First Team and Burns was named MACJC Pitcher of the Year. The trio was also named to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) All Region 23 Team and now will be eligible for All-American honors, which will be announced later this summer.
In the circle, Burns finished her sophomore season with a 1.81 ERA and set the program record for single season wins with 27. She is also the program's all-time career wins record holder (46) and strikeouts (273).
Meine had a standout freshman season as the shortstop, leading the Indians in batting average (.419), slugging percentage (.585), hits (75), runs (63), triples (7) and stolen bases (51).
Conley anchored the Indian defense at catcher, and offensively she hit .363 this season with 33 RBI, 12 doubles and 61 hits, which is second best on the team.
Cox, Cryder and Sternisha all earned MACJC All-State Second Team honors.
Cox split most of her time this season at first base and as the DP, and she hit .362 with 44 RBI, 10 doubles and led the team with a .477 on base percentage and 10 hit by pitches. She also helped the Indians pitching staff with three appearances in the circle.
Cryder spent her freshman campaign at the hot corner and kept a hot bat most of the season hitting .303 with 41 RBI, 10 doubles and a team-high 10 home runs.
Sternisha finished her sophomore season with a .325 batting average and picked up 39 RBI, three triples, one home run and led the team with 13 doubles. Her offensive numbers are highlighted by a walk-off single that gave the Indians their first-ever win in the National Tournament.
The Indians finished the 2019 season with a 40-16-1 record, the second straight year of 40 plus wins, and extended the program's streak of 30 plus wins in a season to eight straight years. They also, finished the season ranked in the Top 10 for the fourth straight year.
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