Jackson named Freshman of Year

Published in Sports on May 11, 2006 2:11 PM

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CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- Western Carolina freshman and Charles B. Aycock graduate Jenny Jackson was named Southern Conference Freshman of the Year as the Catamounts, a first-year program, landed six players on the All-Conference list and received three of the four yearly honors.

A native of Fremont, Jackson was a vital part of the Catamount lineup during the inaugural season -- spending time at second base, designated player, both right and left field, and toeing the rubber. She was fourth on the team in overall batting average at the close of the regular season, hitting .302 (52-of-172) and was second on the squad in total wins (15) and ERA (2.38). Her batting numbers ranked her 16th in the conference overall and she is tied for third in total RBI with 44. Her ERA also ranks third in the league with her conference-only pitching average of 2.36 ranking eighth.

Jackson, who has made only three errors all season for a fielding percentage of 971, holds the distinction of tossing Western's first-ever no-hitter, shutting down Alabama A&M in the Best Western Catamount Classic on March 18.

As voted on by the league's eight head coaches, freshmen Mendy McKenzie, Heather Pritchard, Allyson McCubbins, Jackson, as well as junior Ashley Adams, earned first team accolades while sophomore Savannah Filley picked up second team all-conference honors.

McKenzie was also named the SoCon Pitcher of the Year, while head coach, Megan Smith, earned Coach of the Year honors after guiding her squad to a 41-18 overall record and 16-4 league mark.

Top-seeded Western Carolina will open play in the 2006 Southern Conference tournament at 9 a.m. Thursday morning at Frost Field in Chattanooga, facing eighth-seeded UNC-Greensboro. Due to weather, the start of the annual championship event was postponed on Wednesday, forcing teams to double-up on Thursday with both first and second round games.