Cameron softball players, coach earn LSC honors

     LAWTON, Okla. (May 7) -- Several Cameron University softball players and their coach have been honored for their performance during the 2003 season. Head coach Gladys Crawford was named the Lone Star Conference North Division Coach of the Year, while five Aggie players earned all-conference honors, following voting by the division's head coaches.
     Freshman Crystal Smith and seniors Karren Hatch and Cheryl Wyrick were each named to the all-conference first team. Junior Michelle Wanner earned second team honors, while junior Lindsey Remington received all-conference honorable mention.
     Crawford was selected as the league's top coach after leading Cameron to its most successful season in four years. The Aggies finished with an overall record of 22-20-2, including 12-6-1 in LSC North Division play. Cameron finished second in the LSC North standings, qualifying for the conference postseason tournament for the first time in school history. Crawford recently completed her seventh season as head coach at Cameron, where she has compiled a record of 135-170-3.
     Smith burst onto the Aggie scene with a record-setting performance in her first day with the Aggies. In a season-opening doubleheader against Hillsdale Free Will Baptist College on Feb. 11, Smith established a new Cameron and Lone Star Conference record by striking out 18 batters in a single game. The Spring, Texas, native went on to rack up 179 strikeouts on the season and led the Aggies with a 12-5 mound record and 2.53 ERA.
     Hatch finished the season as Cameron's leader in hits (56), doubles (11), triples (3), run scored (29) and stolen bases (8). The Mesa, Ariz., and Eastern Arizona Junior College product also recorded a .960 fielding percentage from her spot as the Aggies' starting shortstop. In two seasons at Cameron, Hatch started every game.
     A Barnsdall, Okla., native and transfer from Liberty University, Wyrick finished her career as Cameron's all-time leader in hit by pitch, 'taking one for the team' 42 times in two seasons. Wyrick currently holds the NCAA Division I single-season record for hit by pitch, with 44 as a freshman at Liberty in 2000. This year, the third baseman ranked among the conference leaders in both batting average and home runs, producing a .377 average while belting 10 home runs. She also led the Aggies in runs scored (29), RBIs (35), doubles (11), slugging percentage (.730), walks (21) and on-base percentage (.528).
     Wanner, a native of Weyburn, Saskatchewan, joined the Aggies squad this season after a successful junior college career at Seward County (Kan.) Community College. She played a variety of positions for the Aggies this season, earning a spot on the all-conference team as a utility player. This season Wanner batted .256 with six doubles. She finished second on the team with four home runs, including two in one game, and was third on the squad with 20 RBIs.
     Remington earned honorable mention honors as a catcher for the Aggies. The Bartlesville, Okla., native finished third on the team with a .286 batting average while starting every game behind the plate for Cameron this season. She posted a team-high fielding percentage of .984 and threw out 17 of 42 would-be base stealers during the year.
     For a complete listing of the 2003 Lone Star Conference softball all-conference teams in both the North and South Divisions, log on to the official LSC website at www.lonestarconference.org.