Kats land three on all-SLC team
5/7/2018 4:00:00 PM | Softball
Full Release From Southland Conference
FRISCO – The Southland Conference unveiled its 2018 all-conference teams on Monday in an announcement from league officials with five Sam Houston State Bearkats receiving postseason honors, including three in total on the second and third teams.
Junior pitcher Lindsey McLeod was named to the all-SLC second team, while sophomore shortstop Tiffany Thompson and redshirt freshman catcher Bailey White were each third-team choices. Additionally, junior first baseman Codi Carpenter and sophomore outfielder Megan McDonald were each given an honorable mention nod.
For McLeod, it is the first time in her career she has landed on an all-conference team after earning honorable mention as a sophomore. She ranks in the top four among all league pitchers in multiple categories, including leading the league with 201 strikeouts. McLeod also ranks fourth in ERA (2.36), tied for first in opponent's batting average (.206) and is second in innings pitched (175.1).
She has posted a 13-12 record this season, ringing up at least 10 strikeouts seven times. That includes a pair of 14-strikeout games against UIW and HBU, each tying the single-game record at SHSU. McLeod will also be looking to add to her freshly-minted Bearkat single-season strikeout record on Tuesday when the Kats take on Central Arkansas in the first round of the SLC Tournament.
For Thompson and White, it is also the first time each of them has landed on an all-league team in their careers as well. Thompson was an honorable mention choice as a true freshman and has turned in another solid season as a sophomore. This season she has hit .296 and leads the team both with seven home runs and a .533 slugging percentage, but has also been a menace on the bases with 17 successful steals in 18 tries.
White, meanwhile, has turned in a fine season as well after missing her true freshman campaign due to injury. She has clubbed six doubles and five homers of her own, while her 26 RBI is second on the team. White has turned in eight multi-hit games this season.
Carpenter and McDonald have also been productive mainstays in the Sam lineup all season, and received honorable mention all-SLC as well on Monday. Carpenter, the Bearkat first baseman, has put together the best year of her career with career highs in home runs (4), runs scored (16), RBI (27) while also picking up the first two triples of her career.
In the outfield, McDonald has now started in center field in all of the Kats' 104 games over the past two seasons. She enters the Southland Conference Tournament leading SHSU with a .302 batting average, adding seven doubles and 10 RBI along the way. McDonald has been stellar in the field with just two errors (.984 fld%) in 116 chances, and has struck out just nine times in 159 at-bats in 2018.
The Kats will kick off their postseason run on Tuesday at 11:00 a.m. in Lake Charles, La., as the No. 8 seed in the tournament, taking on No. 5 Central Arkansas. Each of the two opening-round games of Tuesday will be single elimination with the winners advancing to the double-elimination portion of the event.
It is the second consecutive season the Bears and Kats have met in the tournament's opening round with Sam Houston winning in walk-off fashion a year ago. A win on Tuesday would push the Kats into a second game on Tuesday, at 4:00 p.m. against No. 4 Southeastern Louisiana.
