Release Link: http://usasouth.net/sports/sball/2016-17/releases/20170403py3h31

(FAYETTEVILLE, N.C.) - The USA South Athletic Conference has announced its 2017 All-Conference awards for softball. Averett University's Jessica Long collected Player of the Year accolades, while her teammate, Kaitlyn Aherron was named Rookie of the Year. Piedmont College's Melissa Eckman earned Pitcher of the Year while Salem College's Sydney Vaughn was named Rookie Pitcher of the Year. Rounding out the individual awards was Meredith College's Kim Scavone who earned Coach of the Year. Also, the USA South recognized an All-Sportsmanship Team, consisting of one member from each competing school.

All awards are voted on by the softball coach at each institution. The divisional team voting is completed only by those coaches in the particular division. The first team all-conference and individual award voting is completed by all coaches.

Long, a senior shortstop from Prospect Hill, North Carolina is the USA South Player of the Year for the second consecutive season. She adds these honors to her Rookie of the Year accolades from three seasons ago. Long becomes just the third player in Conference softball history to be named Player of the Year twice as well as Rookie of the Year. She currently leads the USA South in several offensive categories including runs scored (54), hits (61), triples (7), walks (23) and on-base percentage (.547). Additionally, Long's .459 batting average ranks third in the Conference. In USA South-only action, Long scored a League-best 28 runs. For her efforts this season, Long collects her fourth consecutive First Team All-Conference honor to go along with a First Team East Division accolade as a shortstop. Finally, she was named USA South Player of the Week twice this spring.

A sophomore pitcher from Perry, Georgia, Eckman adds Conference Pitcher of the Year to her Rookie Pitcher of the Year award from last year. She currently has posted a 13-5 record with a 1.86 ERA in 112.2 innings pitched. Eckman has tossed 14 complete games including a Conference-best seven shutouts. In Conference-only action, she leads the League with a 9-1 record and an ERA of 1.49 which is best in the Conference for pitchers who have more than six starts versus USA South competition. Eckman earns First Team All-Conference and First Team West Division honors as a pitcher for the first time after collecting All-Conference Honorable Mention accolades a season ago. Finally, Eckman was named USA South Pitcher of the Week once this season.

Aherron, a freshman utility player from Alton, Virginia becomes the second Cougar to earn USA South Rookie of the Year, joining her current teammate Jessica Long who captured the honor in 2014. Aherron is currently ranked in the top-six of 11 different Conference offensive categories including leading the League in RBI with 61. She has compiled a .395 batting average, a .474 on-base percentage and a .736 slugging percentage to go along with 28 runs scored, 13 doubles, five triples, seven home runs and 22 walks. In Conference-only action, Aherron led or was tied for the League-lead with an .851 slugging percentage, six home runs and 37 RBI. In addition to her offensive performance, she compiled a 9-8 record with one save and a 3.12 ERA in the circle as a pitcher. For her efforts, Aherron collected First Team All-Conference and First Team East Division honors as a utility player. Finally, she was named National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division III National Player of the Week once in addition to USA South Pitcher of the Week once, Rookie of the Week twice and Rookie Pitcher of the Week once this spring.

A freshman pitcher from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Vaughn becomes the first Salem softball player to earn an individual USA South honor in the program's brief history in the League. She has posted a 9-2 record with one save in 15 appearances, seven starts, over 61.0 innings. She has compiled a 2.75 ERA with 32 strikeouts as opponents are hitting .273 against her. In USA South-only action, her ERA dipped to a 1.79 as she posted a 6-1 record. For her efforts this season, Vaughn earned First Team All-Conference and First Team West Division honors as a pitcher and was named USA South Rookie Pitcher of the Week once.

In her seventh season at Meredith, Scavone collects her second USA South Coach of the Year honor. Scavone has guided Meredith to a 26-14 overall record which included a 17-5 USA South mark, good for the Conference East Division championship. In the USA South Preseason Coaches Poll, the Avenging Angels were picked to finish third in the division. The regular season title is the program's first as members of the USA South while the 17 Conference wins set a program record for a single-season. Scavone now takes her squad into the USA South tournament as the East Division's top-seeded team.

The 2017 USA South Softball All-Conference Team:

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