May 12, 2004
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. - Baylor softball players Carrie Leerberg, Harmony Schwethelm and Cristin Vitek were named first team all-Big 12 Conference as Kelly Osburn earned second team honors at the annual Big 12 Softball Conference banquet held today. The Lady Bears also placed six on the first team academic all-Big 12 squad, more than any other school.
Vitek earned her second selection on the all-conference squad after she was named second team all-conference her freshman year. The left-handed pitcher has set numerous school records this year, setting a new school record with 28 wins and becoming the first Lady Bear in school history to post over 200 strikeouts in a season.
Vitek finished the regular season ranked second in the league with a 0.87 ERA and ranks fifth in the conference with a 218 strikeouts.
Leerberg and Schwethelm earned their first selections on the all-conference squads, as Baylor landed three on the first team for the first time in school history.
After struggling her sophomore season, Leerberg returned to post some of the best single season numbers in Baylor history. The second baseman was second on the team and fourth on the conference with a batting average of .368 on the season. She ranked at the top of the conference with five triples, and finished the regular season ranked fifth in the conference with 57 hits and third with 26 stolen bases.
Schwethelm, who led the team with a .377 batting average, also earned the first all-conference selection of her career. The sophomore right-fielder finished second in the conference in batting average and finished fifth with 58 hits. Like Leerberg, the speedster finished third in the Big 12 Conference with 26 stolen bases.
Osburn rounded out Baylor's all-conference selections as the sophomore left-fielder earned her first career selection while being named to the second team. She finished the season ranked fifth in the conference with seven home runs and was fourth on the team with a .276 batting average.
Baylor also placed six on the first team academic all-conference squad, more than any other school in the conference. Vitek, Schwethelm and Osburn each added the honor to their all-conference selections, as senior Kelly Levesque, senior Amber Daniel and junior Kim Wilmoth were also named to the team.
Vitek and Wilmoth earned their second selections on the squad as the other four members of the squad were first time selections.
Players qualified for the academic first team by posting a 3.20 GPA over the last year while playing in 60 percent of the team's games.
The focus now shifts to the Big 12 Conference Tournament, as the fourth-seeded Lady Bears will face fifth-seeded Oklahoma at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, May 13, at Hall of Fame Stadium.
