Softball Earns Five All-Big 12 Honors
5/17/2011 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 17, 2011
IRVING, Texas -
The Baylor softball team had five players named to the All-Big 12 team, the conference office announced Tuesday. Whitney Canion, Kathy Shelton and Dani Leal were named to the first team, while Kayce Walker and Megan Turk earned second-team honors.
Baylor's list of five mark the most since receiving the same number in 2009.
Canion, a unanimous selection, was named to the first team for the second time in her career. The sophomore is 24-9 with a 1.28 ERA, while adding 265 strikeouts in 208.1 innings. Canion's 10 strikeouts on Sunday against Texas tied her with Cristin Vitek for the all-time program lead with 759.
Shelton was the second unanimous selection on the first team for the Lady Bears, who had two of the seven unanimous picks. The sophomore, who was named for the first time in her career, was second on the team in overall batting average with a .353 average, but she really picked it up in Big 12 play. Shelton finished second in conference-only batting average with a .400 mark, while leading the Big 12 in hits (26) and stolen bases (10).
Leal earned her first all-conference honor after leading the Lady Bears with a .364 average overall, good for 10th in the Big 12. Her 14 home runs placed her in a tie for fifth overall, and were the sixth-most by a Baylor player in history. In conference-only games, she tied for third with five homers, was fourth in slugging percentage (.694) and was tied for seventh in RBI with 14.
Walker was named All-Big 12 for the third time after picking up first-team honors in each of her first two seasons. The junior was seventh in the Big 12 in conference-only games with a .355 average and fourth with 22 hits. In all, she placed seventh with 17 stolen bases on the year and holds a perfect fielding percentage.
Turk was named all-conference for the first time in her career after picking it up in Big 12 play. In conference-only games, she hit .344 to tie for 11th and was tied for sixth with 21 hits. Her stellar defensive play is leading the squad with 73 assists, while she is second on the team with 20 assists during Big 12 games.
All-Big 12 and postseason honors are selected in a vote by the league's head coaches, who are not allowed to vote for their own players. This year's list had at least one student-athlete make either the first or second team from all 10 squads.
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