Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Six Salukis earn All-MVC recognition
05/11/2016 | 12:00:00 | Softball
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Six Southern Illinois softball players earned All-Conference recognition at the 2016 Missouri Valley Conference awards banquet on Wednesday night. Shaye Harre and Brianna Jones earned first-team All-MVC; Savanna Dover, Kelsey Gonzalez and Sydney Jones earned second-team All-MVC; and Merri Anne Patterson earned her second-straight All-Defensive Team honor.
Shaye Harre led the conference in on-base percentage after reaching base in more than 51 percent of her plate appearances this season. She ranked in the top-10 in the MVC in batting average, slugging percentage, runs scored, RBIs, doubles, home runs, total bases and walks drawn. Her walks drawn, home runs and RBIs this year all rank in the top-10 in SIU single-season history. She earned MVC Player of the Week honors twice this year. Harre is now a two-time All-MVC honoree after earning second-team All-MVC as a freshman in 2014.
Brianna Jones earned first-team All-MVC recognition after an outstanding freshman season in 2016. Jones led the league in wins (22) and shutouts (10) and was second in ERA. She led all freshmen nationally in both wins and shutouts and is a finalist for NFCA National Freshman of the Year. Jones set SIU freshman records for wins, shutouts, innings, appearances and complete games. She is SIU's first freshman to earn first-team All-MVC since Taylor Orsburn and Jayna Spivey in 2011.
Savanna Dover earned her first All-Conference honor after a breakout sophomore season. Dover did not allow a home run for her first 119 innings of the season and went 579 consecutive batters faced between home runs allowed. Her ERA, opposing batting average, innings pitched, and strikeout totals all ranked in the top-10 in the MVC, and she led the league in fewest home runs allowed. In MVC play, Dover's 1.81 ERA ranked second in the conference.
Kelsey Gonzalez earned All-MVC recognition for the first time in her outstanding career as a four-year starter for the Salukis. In MVC play, Gonzalez hit .313 with five doubles, 14 runs scored, four stolen bases and a .387 on-base percentage. For the season, Gonzalez hit .304 with 35 runs scored, seven doubles, 10 stolen bases and a .393 on-base percentage. A two-year captain, Gonzalez started 196 career games and scored 111 career runs while leading SIU to its highest win total since 2012.
Sydney Jones started all 50 games this year and has started all 98 games in her career. This year, Jones hit .290 with eight doubles, five home runs and 20 RBIs. She had a .448 slugging percentage and a .411 on-base percentage and was a perfect 9-for-9 stealing bases. She drew 28 walks during the regular season, which ranked sixth in the MVC.
Merri Anne Patterson earned MVC All-Defensive team for the second-straight season. The MVC began naming the All-Defensive team last season, and Patterson is one of two players to earn All-Defensive Team honors in both years of its existence, along with Northern Iowa's Anna Varriano. Patterson had seven outfield assists this year as a full-time starter in center field, and she also robbed a home run vs. Northern Iowa.
SIU finished the regular season 32-18, 15-10 in the MVC and is the No. 4 seed in the MVC Tournament, which Southern hosts at Charlotte West Stadium May 12-14. Southern Illinois will play at 4 p.m. CT on Thursday, May 12, against the winner of that morning's game between Bradley and Missouri State.
