Three Kats receive All-CUSA honors

DALLAS — Three Sam Houston student-athletes have been recognized by Conference USA for an outstanding softball season, the league announced on Tuesday.

Outfielder Ellie Grill and infielder Elia Hebel have been named to the second team and pitcher Amy Abke was named to the all-freshman team after leading the Bearkats to 20 wins this past season.

Grill has been solid at the plate and defensively in center field for the Bearkats in CUSA play. She led the team with a .400 battling average while starting all 23 league games. She has been at her best with runners on base, hitting .375 in those situations in conference.

She led the program in hits (30), runs (13) and she had extra base hits. Grill boasted a 1.000 fielding percentage while making highlight reel catches and has been a leader on the field and in the locker room since she arrived on campus.

Hebel elevated her game as a junior. She was second on the team a .394 battling average while starting all 23 league games. She hit six home runs in league play with a team-leading 16 RBI.

She also led SHSU with eight doubles and a .788 slugging percentage. Hebel was named Hitter of the Week in a sweep of MTSU earlier this season with a slash line of .545/.545/1.091 with five RBI, four runs scored, two doubles and a home run.

Abke stepped in as the ace of the SHSU pitching staff as a true freshman. She went 5-4 in conference play with a 1.93 ERA. She threw five complete games and 65 1/3 innings.

Her batting average against was .224, and Abke was at her best with runners on, allowing opponents to hit just .203 in those situations. She was named Freshman of the Week after picking up a pair of wins in two starts against MTSU with one shutout inning of relief.

Three Kats receive All-CUSA honors

Players Mentioned

Amy Abke

Ellie Grill

Elia Hebel

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