ATLANTA, Ga. – The Great South Athletic Conference held a banquet in Atlanta on Friday night to honor the softball student-athletes for their outstanding performances – both on the field and in the classroom -  this season. Salem College has five players on the all-conference team and two on the all-freshmen team.

Finlandia's Alexis Lawley captured the 2014 GSAC Softball Player of the Year award while Agnes Scott's Holly Jones was bestowed the Pitcher of the Year distinction. Scottie teammate Alliyah Williams scored Freshman of the Year status and their coach, Tayla DiGirolamo, was named Coach of the Year by her peers.

Alexis Lawley (pictured at right), a senior catcher from Pell City, Ala., not only led the league in hitting with a .603 batting average, but she ranks second nationally in that category. She also has posted a .987 slugging percentage that places her 7^th in the nation. Additionally, Lawley led the league in runs (31), homeruns (7), total bases (77) and on-base percentage (.659).

Just a freshman from Palm City, Fla., Holly Jones took the circle for Agnes Scott in all their big spots in 2014. She racked up 6 wins on the season while compiling a league-best 2.48 ERA through 67.2 innings pitched. Not only did Jones limit runs scored for her opponents, but she did the best job in the conference of keeping would-be runners off base, limiting opponents to a .270 batting average against.

Alliyah Williams, a freshman utility player from Dacula, Ga., burst onto the scene for the Scotties in 2014. A gap-finder, Williams led the league in doubles with 13 on the season and played her way inside the top 5 of several major statistical categories including runs batted in (3^rd), homeruns (4^th), total bases (4^th), hits (5^th) and walks (5^th). In addition to her offensive prowess, Williams helped the squad by playing four different positions throughout the season.

In her third season at the helm of the Agnes Scott softball program, head coach Tayla DiGirolamo guided the Scotties to a 20-20 overall record and top seed in the 2014 GSAC Softball Tournament. DiGirolamo came to Agnes Scott with over 15 years of softball experience, including four years as a Division I player at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC). At UTC, DiGirolamo earned Southern Conference (SoCon) Pitcher of the Year honors in 1999. DiGirolamo also earned First Team All-Conference in 1999 and 2001.

 2014 GSAC Softball Awards

Player of the Year: Alexis Lawley of Finlandia
Pitcher of the Year: Holly Jones of Agnes Scott
Freshman of the Year: Alliyah Williams of Agnes Scott
Coach of the Year: Tayla DiGirolamo of Agnes Scott

Softball All-Conference Team

Catchers (2)
Alexis Lawley (Finlandia) and Kat Riale (Agnes Scott)

Infielders (7)
Ashley Monsrud (Agnes Scott), Kierston Garner (Salem), Macayla Kirylo (Pine Manor), Amber Bass (Salem), Shelby Swann (Trinity Washington), Casey Arnold (Agnes Scott), Tiffany Cain (Agnes Scott)

Outfielders (5)
Aimee McKibbin (Agnes Scott), Kristi Morton (Salem), Colleen DeGraff (Wesleyan) Alyssa Millikin (Agnes Scott), Amanda Allen (Maine-Presque Isle)

Utility Players (2)
Morgan Coleman (Salem) and Alliyah Williams (Agnes Scott)

Pitchers (4)
Holly Jones (Agnes Scott), Julia Blattner (Agnes Scott), Lauryn Smith (Salem), Alyson Herman (Finlandia)

Softball All-Freshman Team

Alliyah Williams (Agnes Scott)
Morgan Coleman (Salem)
Holly Jones (Agnes Scott)
Jema Bravo (Wesleyan)
Jade Perle (Trinity Washington)
Alexis Bushika (Pine Manor)
Hillary Brewer (Finlandia)
Kelsey Daigneau (Agnes Scott)
Lauryn Smith (Salem)
Maria Vaughan (Pine Manor)

Softball All-Academic Team

Agnes Scott

Ashley Monsrud
Casey Arnold

Finlandia

Alyson Herman

Maine-Presque Isle

Jessica Campbell
Taylor Cochran
Brittany Luetjen
Kathryn Patenaude

Pine Manor

Natasha Kopystynsky
Cathryn White
Anastasia Walker
Macayla Kirylo

Rust

Ashley Hall

Salem

Emily DeVane

Wesleyan

Colleen DeGraff
Anna Jones
Sara McMahon

Softball All-Sportsmanship Team

Agnes Scott: Tiffany Cain
Finlandia: Heather Grimm
MPI: Whitney Donovan
Pine Manor: Mayuka Watanabe
Rust:
Salem: Lauryn Smith
TWU: Bi'Anncha Andrews
Wesleyan: