Three Eastern softball players were named to the Ohio Valley Conference’s Second Team last week at the Ohio Valley Conference awards banquet.

Rachel Karos, Sandyn Short and Kathleen Jacoby were each honored for their contributions during the season.

“To be recognized for helping the team is a great honor,” Karos said.

Karos led the team with a .362 batting average and also topped the team in hits, triples, runs scored, slugging percentage and on-base percentage during her senior season.

All the offensive numbers Karos put up were outstanding; however, Eastern Head Coach Kim Schuette was more impressed with how well Karos played defensively the entire year. Karos had 260 chances while playing third base and made only six errors.

Schuette said that the team had such confidence in the fielding ability of Karos that the strategy of the pitching staff was to pitch inside to right-handed hitters, increasing the likelihood of the ball being hit in Karos’ direction.

Short was second on the team in doubles and RBI’s, despite playing in only 49 of the team’s 63 games because of an early season injury. The junior batted a solid .297 while striking out only seven times in 149 at bats.

Short threw out 12 base runners while playing catcher and had a .993 fielding percentage overall.

“Sandyn was our stable foundation behind the plate,” Schuette said.

Jacoby led the pitching staff with 221 innings pitched and 21 victories, both first-year Eastern records. She started 33 games on the mound and had 23 complete games, while compiling a 2.36 earned run average (ERA).

Jacoby was a little bit surprised to have such a successful season, but was quick to shy away from taking all the credit. She felt fortunate to receive run support from the offense while the players behind her made the plays in the field, contributing to her impressive numbers.

“Kathleen was our workhorse on the mound all year and her competitive fire carried us,” Schuette said.

The freshmen pitcher hopes to go back to the basics and add a couple of different off-speed pitches between now and the start of next season.

As for Karos, she was proud to be a part of this particular team.

“We are a different program now; we put EIU softball back on the map,” she said.

Karos was named to the All-Region Second Team as well, while Jacoby also earned a spot on the All-Newcomer Team.

Both Karos and Short were All-Conference First Team selections in 2005. This marked the third consecutive year that Short was an all-conference selection.

Senior third baseman Rachel Karos, junior catcher Sandyn Short and freshman pitcher kathleen Jacoby proudly display their Second Team All-Ohio Valley Conference awards. Karos was also named to the Second Team All-Midwest Region.

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