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All-Ohio Valley Conference

MARTIN, Tenn. – Four Eastern Kentucky University softball players were recognized at the annual Ohio Valley Conference awards banquet on Wednesday night, held in conjunction with the conference tournament.  Raquel Howes, Diane Gallagher and Katie Tackett earned All-OVC honors.  Tackett and Leanna Pittsenbarger were selected to the OVC All-Newcomer team.

Howes and Gallagher were first team all-conference selections while Tackett earned a spot on the second team.  Gallagher is now a four-time all-conference selection, earning first team honors in 2009, 2011 and 2012 and second team honors in 2010.

Howes, a junior from Colorado Springs, Colo., led the team in hits, RBIs, home runs, doubles, total bases and slugging percentage.  She led the OVC in hits (72), RBIs (54) and total bases (134).  She finished second in the league in home runs (16), doubles (14) and slugging (.709).  She had the fifth best batting average at .381.

Gallagher, a senior from Atwater, Calif., led the team in batting, runs, triples and stolen bases.  She led the OVC with 23 multiple-hit games.  She tied for second in the league with 46 runs scored, one short of breaking Eastern’s single season record.  She ranked fourth in the conference in batting (.382) and stolen bases (24).

In her first collegiate season, Tackett hit .311 with 12 home runs, 42 RBIs and 18 runs scored.  She tied the school single season record for walks (32).  The Murrieta, Calif., native had a team-best .429 on-base percentage and was second in slugging (.561), RBIs, home runs and total bases.  Tackett ranked among the top-10 in the OVC in walks (4th), RBIs (tied 5th), total bases (8th), on-base percentage (10th) and slugging percentage (10th).

Pittsenbarger, a freshman from Urbana, Ohio, went 15-14 with a 2.70 ERA and 161 strikeouts in her first season as a Colonel.  She’ll tie the program single season record with her next appearance in the circle, which will be her 42nd of the season.  She has started 30 games and has 15 complete games in 2012.  Pittsenbarger ranks among the top-10 in the OVC in appearances (tied 1st), innings pitched (3rd), strikeouts (4th), wins (tied 5th), games started (tied 5th), shutouts (tied 5th), opponents’ batting average (7th), complete games (tied 9th) and ERA (10th).

Fifth seeded Eastern Kentucky opens play in the OVC tournament against No. 4 seed Murray State at 1:30 p.m. ET on Thursday.