Date Posted: 5/9/2007

MACON, Ga. – Kennesaw State senior Keri McKee claimed the Atlantic Sun Conference’s highest individual softball honor after being named Player of the Year as the league office announced the full list of postseason honors prior to the A-Sun Championship presented by Coca-Cola.

Awards are determined by a vote of the league's head coaches.

Southpaw Brittany Matthews was a unanimous selection for Pitcher of the Year accolades while head coach Scott Whitlock captured his first A-Sun Coach of the Year award as the Owls received three of the league’s top four individual honors. UNF rookie hurler Devyn Findley was selected as the A-Sun Freshman of the Year. All three players also earned first team All-Atlantic Sun honors.

McKee led the A-Sun in batting average at .422, the only player to eclipse the exclusive .400 plateau. The Buford, Ga., native re-wrote the Kennesaw State record books, finishing her career as the school’s all-time leader in several categories including hits and RBI. Additionally, the infielder paced the conference in doubles (22), walks (40) and on-base percentage (.519). Findley went 16-7 and led the A-Sun in ERA for most of the season before finishing third in the rankings with her 1.81 mark. Matthews won a league-best 23 games while posting a 1.82 earned run average and fanning 245 batters to help lead the Owls to their first A-Sun regular season title. Joining Matthews as a unanimous first team all-conference selection was Stetson outfielder Sherrel Fountain who paced the Hatters with .373 average and swiped 25 bases in 30 attempts.

Kennesaw State’s Kelley Cowart batted .443 in A-Sun competition to claim one of the outfield slots while UNF’s Kelli Rutenbar landed on the team as a catcher after throwing out nearly 40% of would-be base stealers. Osprey second baseman Gwen Williams posted one of the best all-around seasons in the conference after leading UNF in the triple crown categories (.374/10/43).

ETSU standouts Stephanie Gaynord (.314/7/26) and Amanda Haverman (.311/6/36) made the Lady Bucs the only other squad with multiple first team selections after claiming infield and utility positions respectively. Rounding out the team were Lipscomb’s Heather Collins (IF) and Jacksonville’s Jillian Mirante (OF).

The 2007 Atlantic Sun Championship presented by Coca-Cola opens on Thursday when No. 3 ETSU faces No. 4 Lipscomb at Patricia Wilson Field. Follow all the action via live video by visiting AtlanticSun.org for details.

Related Links:
 • Full List of Award Winners
 • Championship Coverage