Five Salukis earn MVC Scholar-Athlete team recognition
05/18/2015 | 12:00:00 | Softball
ST. LOUIS - The Southern Illinois softball program had five student-athletes named to the Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete team, the league announced Monday. Kalyn Harker, Shaye Harre and Merri Anne Patterson all earned first-team recognition. Katie Bertelsen and Kelsey Gonzalez were honorable mention selections.
Southern has placed at least two student-athletes on the MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team for 18 consecutive years. The Salukis led the conference in both first-team selections (3) and overall selections (5) to this year's team. Kalyn Harker was the only eligible player in the conference to have maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA.
To be eligible, student-athletes must be in their second year at an institution with at least a 3.2 cumulative GPA, and they must have met certain playing-time requirements.
Kalyn Harker • Sr. • OF • 4.0 GPA • Biological Sciences
Kalyn Harker is the only eligible student-athlete to have a perfect 4.0 cumulative GPA. She was named to the MVC Scholar-Athlete Team for the third time, the only player in the conference with three first-team honors. In 2015, she earned first-team All-MVC, MVC All-Tournament Team and first-team Academic All-District honors after hitting .361. She led the MVC with a .466 batting average against league foes. In her career, Harker is just the second player in SIU history with at least 30 doubles and 40 stolen bases.
Shaye Harre • So. • INF/P • 3.91 • Animal Sciences
In her first season eligible, Harre earned first-team MVC Scholar-Athlete honors. Along with Harker, Harre was a first-team Academic All-District selection in 2015. She earned both MVC Player of the Week (April 20) and MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Week (May 6) honors in 2015. She led the team with 30 RBIs and hit .324 against league foes. She was an All-MVC selection as a freshman in 2014 and has started all 100 games in her two-year Saluki career.
Merri Anne Patterson • So. • OF • 3.90 • Exercise Sciences
Merri Anne Patterson also earned a first-team MVC Scholar-Athlete nod in her first season eligible. Patterson earned MVC All-Defensive Team and second-team All-MVC honors in 2015 after hitting .321 with 10 doubles, seven home runs and 25 RBIs. She earned both MVC Player of the Week (March 23) and MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Week (March 25) honors this season after hitting two game-winning home runs vs. Wichita State. In MVC play, Patterson hit .384 with seven doubles, six home runs and 17 RBIs in 2015 and was in the top-11 of the conference in batting average, slugging percentage, total bases, doubles per game and home runs per game.
Katie Bertelsen • Sr. • P • 3.2 • Recreation
Katie Bertelsen earned her first selection to the MVC Scholar-Athlete team with an honorable mention nod this year. Bertelsen led the MVC in wins against conference teams this year with 13 and won 17 games overall. She pitched 23 complete games, and she threw back-to-back complete-game shutouts against MVC teams with shutout wins over Evansville and Loyola. Bertelsen ends her career in the top-10 in SIU history in career wins, complete games, innings pitched, appearances and starts.
Kelsey Gonzalez • Jr. • INF • 3.96 • Marketing
Kelsey Gonzalez earned her second-straight selection to the MVC Scholar-Athlete team after being a first-team honoree last year. She started 47 of 48 games for SIU and closed the year on a seven-game hit streak and an 18-game reached base streak, the longest on the team 2015. After moving to the leadoff spot before MVC play started, Gonzalez reached in 27 of 33 games and hit .302 while posting a .393 on-base percentage. As a sophomore in 2014, Gonzalez earned MVC Player of the Week honors after leading SIU to a series win over Wichita State.
