Three Flashes Earn Conference Honors
5/7/2009 12:00:00 AM | Softball
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Kent State's Kylie Reynolds (Greensboro, Ga./Morgan County) and Ashlee Hein (Marysville, Ohio/Marysville) were both named to the All-Mid-American Conference First Team Thursday (May 7), while Jess Carmichael (Dalton, Ohio/Dalton) was named to the All-MAC Second Team. Reynolds became just the fourth player in school history to earn first team accolades in three straight seasons.
A junior right-hander, Reynolds will have the opportunity next year to become the only player in school history to win four first team honors. Heading into the 2009 MAC Tournamnet, Reynolds was 19-15 with a 2.24 ERA, 314 strikeouts and nine shutouts. She has fanned 109 more batters than any other pitcher in the MAC and also leads the league in opponent batting average (.182) and shutouts. Reynolds went 11-5 in conference play with three saves.
Hein saved many of her best hitting performances for conference play, batting .300 with eight home runs and 20 RBI in 21 MAC games. The sophomore catcher broke a school record for homers in conference play, which also led all MAC players. Her 10 round trippers on the year are already the sixth most by a KSU player in a single season. Hein also carried a .417 on-base percentage in league play and a .717 slugging percentage.
Carmichael, a sophomore shortstop, hit .321 in MAC play with three homers and 12 RBI. She scored 12 runs against conference foes, despite missing three games with an injury. Carmichael also went 5-for-5 on stolen base attempts in conference games. The All-MAC honor was her second postseason award in as many seasons after being named to the MAC All-Freshman Team in 2008.
Hein and Carmichael each earned a MAC East Player of the Week nod earlier in the season, while Reynolds was named MAC East Pitcher of the Week four times.
The Golden Flashes finished 15-6 in conference play and captured their fourh straight East Division title.
