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Radford, Va. - The Gardner-Webb softball team had six student-athletes earn postseason Big South All-Conference honors on Wednesday night at the 2012 Big South Softball Championship Banquet in Radford, Va. Infielders Samantha Meenaghan and Morgan Baker each earned a spot on the Big South All-Conference First-Team, while redshirt-pitcher Cindy Boomhower, senior catcher McKenzie Morenus and freshman designated player Amanda Gomes all were named to the Second-Team. Senior Jane Savage was not only named to the Big South All-Academic Team for the second straight year, but she was also tabbed as the 2012 Big South Softball Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Meenaghan, Baker, Boomhower and Morenus are all second-time all-conference award winners, while this is the first all-conference award for Gomes.

Meenaghan, who was one of only two unanimous first-team all-conference selections, leads GWU and the Big South with a .395 average overall. The second-baseman also leads GWU and ranks second in the Big South in hits with 64 on the season and is ranked third in conference play with 24 hits. The 2011 Big South Freshman of the Year tops GWU and is third in the conference with 32 runs and three triples on the year. Meenaghan is hitting .343 in conference play, which ranks 10th overall and is also third in League play with 15 runs scored. On the year, Meenaghan posted a hitting streak of both 11-games and eight games this season, while also recording 18 multi-hit games and six multi-RBI games. The sophomore is second on the team with a .481 slugging percentage and in stolen bases with five.

The 2012 College Sports Madness First-Team Big South selection is now a two-time Big South First-Team All-Conference selection having received the honors last season as well.

Baker, who like Meenaghan now becomes a two-time Big South First-Team All-Conference selection having received the honor last season as well, leads the team with eight doubles on the season and is tied for third in the conference with five doubles in conference action. Baker, who is third on the team with a .295 batting average and with 36 hits for the season, is also tied for third with three home runs and 21 RBI on the year. The redshirt-sophomore first-baseman has posted a .434 slugging percentage and .400 on base percentage for the year, while in the field she has recorded 291 putouts on the season, which ranks in the top-five of the Big South Conference. Baker has posted seven multi-hit games and five multi-RBI games and recorded a season-long five-game hitting streak on the year.

Boomhower, who made a smooth transition from starter to relief pitcher this season for GWU, earned a spot on the second-team, as she leads the League with four saves on the season and is tied for first with two saves in League play. Boomhower's 2.00 ERA on the year and 1.96 ERA in League play both rank second in the conference, while her 37 batters struck out looking in conference play ranks third overall. The redshirt-senior has pitched in 24 games in relief on the year, 12 in conference play, both of which are League highs, yet leads the team with 10 wins on the year, five of which have come in conference play. The two-time Big South Pitcher of the Week this season also leads GWU with 72 strikeouts and only 23 walks for the season and has held opponents to a .238 batting average for the season and .250 in conference play.

Boomhower, who threw a perfect game on March 9th against UNC Wilmington, was named to the 2012 College Sports Madness Big South Second-Team and is now a two-time Big South Second-Team All-Conference selection having also received the award back in 2010.

Joining Boomhower on the second-team is Morenus, who leads GWU and is third in the Big South with a .390 average in conference play. The senior catcher is second on the team with a .312 average for the year, which ranks in the top-10 in the Big South, and is tied for fifth in Big South play with 23 hits. Morenus is fourth in League play with a .464 on-base percentage and 33 total bases and is also tied for second in the conference with three sac files on the season. On the year, she has four pickoffs on the year, two of which are in conference play, which both rank second in the Big South. Morenus posted a team-high 13-game hitting streak on the year and totaled seven multi-RBI games on the season. She leads GWU in home runs (5), RBI (27) and slugging percentage (.496), and is second on the team in hits with 39.

Morenus, who like Meenaghan was a 2012 College Sports Madness First-Team Big South selection this year, is now a two-time Big South All-Conference selection having been named to the Big South All-Conference First-Team back in 2010.

Gomes earns her first conference postseason honors this season, as the freshman was named to the Big South All-Conference Second-Team in only her first season in the League. Gomes, who came on strong toward the end of the season, ranks fifth in League play with 17 RBI, hitting .327 in Big South play. The designated player and catcher is tied for ninth in conference play with three home runs and ranks second on the team with four home runs and 23 RBI on the season. She is also third on the team with a .436 slugging percentage, posting a .558 slugging percentage in conference play, and is also third on the team with five doubles. On the year, Gomes has tallied 10 extra base hits and posted a season-high five-game hitting streak. Gomes also recorded six multi-hit games and five multi-RBI games, posting her first career home run in a win over UNCG on March 22.

Savage, the 2012 Big South Conference Softball Scholar-Athlete of the Year, continues to add to her awards for her academic success, as earlier this month she was one of four recipients to receive the Big South Conference's prestigious George A. Christenberry Award for Academic Excellence. The award is given to the male and female student-athlete who attains the highest GPA during their college careers. A two-time Big South Presidential Honor Roll member and a CoSida Academic All-American nominee, Savage has played in 42 games on the year, starting 38 for GWU during her senior season. The outfielder has recorded a career-high five outfield assists on the season and has totaled 11 runs and four RBI on 16 hits for the year.

Savage, who will graduate in May with a perfect 4.0 grade point average in English, also becomes a two-time Big South All-Academic Team member having received the same honor last season.

The six honorees is the most that the Runnin' Bulldogs have had in one season since moving to the NCAA Division I level in 2001, surpassing their previous record of four which GWU had in each of the last three years.

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2012 Big South Conference SOFTBALL Award Winners

First-Team All-Conference
OF: Meredith Crisante, Liberty
OF: Stephanie Jones, Campbell
OF: Hannah Ojeda, Radford
1B: Morgan Baker, Gardner-Webb
2B: Samantha Meenaghan, Gardner-Webb *
SS: Nichole Beall, Radford *
3B: Kory Hayden, Coastal Carolina
C: Taylor McGee, Campbell
DP: Chelsey Schoenfeldt, Winthrop
UT: Sarah Maples, Coastal Carolina
P: Jackie Jenkins, Radford
P: Kiana Quolas, Coastal Carolina

Second Team All-Conference
OF: Jana Matthews, Charleston Southern
OF: Katie Zavodny, Liberty
OF: Sarah Forgacs, Campbell
OF: Tera Powell, Presbyterian College
1B: Jessie Hutchens, Radford
2B: Jackie Warr, Radford
SS: Ericka Nesbitt, Campbell
3B: Vicki Madden, Radford
C: McKenzie Morenus, Gardner-Webb
DP: Raven Lee, Campbell
UT: Amanda Gomes, Gardner-Webb
P: Cindy Boomhower, Gardner-Webb
P: Morgan Dowdy, Charleston Southern