2016-17 PBC Yearbook 1617 yearbook | Page 62

P B C Y E A R B O O K 60 The teams are selected by members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). The award is widely recognized as the most prestigious in collegiate athletics. Perrucci, a senior outfielder/pitcher from Duluth, Georgia, led the Mountain Lions to a program best (NCAA era) 43 wins to date as Young Harris qualified for its second consecutive trip to the NCAA Division II Softball Tournament. The three-time All-Peach Belt per- former is ranked 25th in NCAA Division II in runs per game (1.05). She is currently ranked second in the PBC in at-bats (203), in runs scored (59) and games started (28), third in hits (71) and plate appearanc- es (220), fourth in triples (4) and pitching appearances (34), fifth in wins (17) and ERA (2.24), sixth in strikeouts (130), and 10th in innings pitched (146.2). Perrucci, who has a 3.94 cumulative grade point average as an interdisciplinary studies major, has been named to the Peach Belt All-Academic Softball Team twice and named to the PBC Presidential Honor Roll three times in her career. She also earned the PBC Elite 15 Award for softball as a junior. Coursey, a junior utility player from Sugar Hill, Ga., won the PBC Elite 15 Award for softball in 2017. She carries a perfect 4.00 GPA with a major in accounting and a minor in finance. A two-time PBC Presidential Honor Roll Gold Scholar, she has also been named PBC All-Academic. On the field, Coursey was one of the top performing second base- men in the region, finishing her junior campaign with a .340 average, 26 runs scored and 28 RBIs. She was tied for fourth in the PBC in triples and was 15th in on-base percentage. A first-team All-Confer- ence selection, she was also named All-Region by the D2CCA. Five PBC Softball Players Named All-Americans AUGUSTA, GA – Five Peach Belt Conference softball players were named All-Americans as the NFCA and D2CCA released their teams. Three North Georgia softball players were recognized by both orga- nizations while UNC Pembroke and Armstrong State had one player each on the NFCA team. The five players is the most in the PBC since the 2010 season. The National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) team is select- ed by head coaches while the Division II Conference Commissioners’ Association (D2CCA) team is chosen by sports information directors. UNG’s Kylee Smith finished a remarkable freshman campaign with first-team All-America laurels from the NFCA and second team from D2CCA. The freshman from Suwanee, Ga., finished the season with a 31-6 record and 1.04 ERA. She was fourth in all of Division II with the 31 wins and also ranked in the top 10 nationally in ERA and strikeouts (254). She also led the conference in complete games (21), shut- outs (8), innings pitched (248.2) and was second in batting average against. A first-team All-Conference selection, she was named the PBC Tournament Most Valuable Player and the NFCA National Pitcher of the Week on March 1. Sydney Sprague was tied for the conference lead in home runs with 14 on the season and she was tied for sixth with 47 RBIs. A junior shortstop from Columbus, Ga., she hit .338 in 60 games for the Nighthawks. Her 19 doubles and 72 hits were second-most in the PBC and she was 13th in the league in slugging percentage. A second-team All-Conference selection, she was equally good in the field, ranked 10th in the league in assists. Sprague was named second-team All-American by both the NFCA and D2CCA. Stephanie Hartness led the PBC with a .444 batting average in 2016-17