From Special Reports
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Behind a phenomenal debut season, Mississippi State softball’s Mia Davidson reeled in the postseason honors as she was selected as the league’s Freshman of the Year as well as earning First Team All-SEC and Freshman All-SEC honors, the conference announced Tuesday.
Davidson has dominated the conference slate and closed the regular-season as the conference leader in home runs (18), total bases (137) slugging percentage (.797). Davidson is just the third Bulldog to ever be named the league’s top freshman and the first since two-time All-American Courtney Bures in 2005.
With Davidson’s First Team All-SEC selection, Mississippi State has earned a first team honoree for the second consecutive season as Davidson follows the footsteps of Caroline Seitz (2017). Davidson is the first MSU freshman to earn All-SEC First Team honors since Bures in 2005. Davidson was also honored with a selection to the SEC All-Freshman team, becoming the first Bulldog to earn the honor since Seitz and Alexis Silkwood were both named to the team in 2014.
The lone MSU freshman to start all 55 games this season, Davidson has led Mississippi State to a national ranking as MSU finished the regular season with a 35-20 record after playing the nation’s 12th-toughest schedule.
Playing primarily behind the plate, Davidson displayed her cannon of an arm over the regular season with three pickoffs and throwing out 10 would-be base stealers.
At the dish, Davidson is just as impressive as she not only led all SEC freshman in virtually every offensive category, but also ranked as one of the top overall sluggers in the league with the conference’s top home run total and slugging percentage. Davidson was also the lone Bulldog to record 45 or more hits, runs scored and RBIs this season.
Davidson leads the team with a .384 batting average behind 66 hits, ranking third in the conference, as she leads the team with 19 multi-hit contests. The freshman leads the entire SEC with a .797 slugging percentage with help of 13 doubles, two triples and 18 home runs, which is tied for the MSU single-season record. Davidson also ranks in the top nine in the league in runs scored (48) and RBIs (46). Drawing 15 walks and 10 hit by pitches, she holds a .457 on-base percentage over her debut season.
Her numbers not only top the conference, but rank as some of the best across the nation as Davidson ranks fifth nationally in total bases, 11th in home runs and 22nd in slugging percentage.
Davidson was selected SEC Freshman of the Week a program-record three times and is also one of 25 finalists for the Schutt Sports/NFCA National Freshman of the Year Award.
Alabama honorees
Four Alabama softball standouts were among those voted to the 2018 Southeastern Conference postseason awards list.
Freshman Kaylee Tow earned First Team All-SEC recognition and a spot on the SEC All-Freshman team, while senior Alexis Osorio and sophomores Elissa Brown and Bailey Hemphill made the All-SEC second team.
The four honorees are the most for the Crimson Tide since 2015 and brings the program’s total to 97 in its 22-year history. Alabama has had at least one player selected to the league’s postseason team every year since its inaugural 1997 season.
Tow was one of just two freshmen on the league’s first team. She is the first Tide position player to earn first team recognition as a freshman since Kayla Braud in 2010. She is the 20th Alabama player to earn SEC All-Freshman accolades since its introduction in 2005, including six in the last four years. Tow is ranked in the top 10 in the SEC in slugging percentage (.692), walks (33), on-base percentage (.491) and home runs (11). In conference play, she is the top-rated freshman in batting average (.353), slugging percentage (.632), hits (24), walks (18) and on-base percentage (.494).
This year’s award is the third of Osorio’s career, earning first team honors as a freshman in 2015 and second team accolades last season. This season, she is 13-8 with a 2.08 ERA and 196 strikeouts over 141.2 innings pitched. Eight of her 13 wins have come in conference play, along with 101 strikeouts in 88.0 innings. She is now just 16 strikeouts away from moving into third all-time on the Alabama career record book.
This is the first career All-SEC appearance for Brown and Hemphill, who both appeared on last year’s SEC All-Freshman team. Brown is hitting .351 this season, leading the team in SEC-only play with a .365 clip. She is 26-for-30 in stolen bases, ranking sixth in the SEC. Her 10 stolen bases in SEC play is second in the conference. Hemphill has a team-leading 11 home runs and 39 RBIs. Her .702 slugging percentage in conference play only trails SEC Player of the Year Amanda Lorenz from Florida and she is among in the top 10 in walks (17), on-base percentage (.493) and RBIs (15).
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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