Barneycastle
ROCK HILL — Six members of the Newberry softball team were named to the All-South Atlantic Conference team on April 22.
Led by McKenzie Barneycastle, who was named to the All-SAC First Team, Hannah Towery and Alexandrea Sullivan both were named to the second team, while Paige Meyer, Haley Simonds and Hailey Hill gathered honorable mentions.
This is the second time that Barneycastle has been a first team honoree, having also been named to the first team in 2019. The senior from Mocksville, N.C. batted.388 on the season, with two doubles, a pair of triples and 14 RBI. She had 11 multi-hit games this season, with five three-hit games. She had a 14-game hit streak, which is the longest on the team this season. In her Newberry career, she is batting .407, which is second-highest all time. Her 41 career stolen bases puts her tied for eighth in Newberry history.
Towery, a senior from Chapin, led the team in numerous categories this season, including batting average (.404), doubles (12), home runs (13) and RBI (34). She is the program’s all-time leader in slugging percentage (.782) and third all-time in home runs (30). She finished the season getting a hit in eight of the final nine games and tied for first in the SAC in home runs (13). She was also named the statistical champion for home runs per game (0.37) and slugging percentage (.894).
Sullivan, a freshman from Campobello, was the ace of the pitching staff in her first year, compiling a 10-5 record with a 2.83 ERA and 107 strikeouts in 104 innings pitched. She recorded at least one strikeout in every appearance this season, with her season-high of 12 strikeouts coming Feb. 24 against Limestone. She threw 11 complete games this season, which is eighth-most in the conference. A two-time SAC Pitcher of the Week, she averaged 7.20 strikeouts per game, which is sixth-highest in the conference.
Meyer finished the season with a .330 batting average with 34 games played. She hit three doubles and drove in nine runs while going 2-3 in stolen base attempts. A senior from Georgetown, Md., this is her second time being named to the All-Conference team. She is tied for sixth all-time in runs scored and is tied for 10th in career walks.
Simonds had another standout season for the Wolves, batting .347, with three doubles, nine home runs and 33 RBIs. She had 10 multi-hit games this season, and led the team in multi-RBI games with 10, including a pair of four-RBI games. She is third all-time in batting average (.391), is second all-time in slugging percentage (.724), fourth in hits (211) and is the all-time leader in RBIs, having driven in 233 in her career, nearly 100 more than second place. She also is the leader in career walks, having drawn 108 walks in her four-year career. She has been an All-Conference nominee every year the awards have been handed out, including first-team selections in 2017 and 2018.
Hill finished the season batting .290, with two triples and 24 RBI. On Feb. 21 she went 3-4 against Flagler, with an RBI. She had a big game on Feb. 28 against Francis Marion, hitting a grand slam that propelled the Wolves to a win. Just a few days later she drove in four runs against Queens, going 2-3 with a double and a run scored. Her three hits against Flagler are tied for the most hits in a single game this season.