Sunday, May 13, 2007

DELAND, Fla. (May 13, 2007) - Despite not reaching her goal of winning the 2007 Atlantic Sun title, senior Stephanie Gaynord (Manassas, Va.) laid everything out on the line over the weekend, and was rewarded for her gutsy efforts as she was named to the A-Sun All-Tournament Team for the second straight season.

Playing pretty much on one leg, the senior from Manassas, Va. led the Bucs to a game one victory over Lipscomb. Gaynord posted two critical hits in the game, as one eventually tied the game at two, and the other moved the game-winning run to third, which came in to score two plays later. For the tournament, Gaynord hit .333 (3-9), with a double, RBI, one run scored and two walks. Gaynord will be remembered as one of the all-time best softball players at ETSU, as she ranks in the top-five in numerous offensive categories for her career, including the all-time home run leader with 25.

As a team, ETSU enjoyed a solid season offensively as they broke records in hitting (.280), slugging percentage (.401), on-base percentage (.340), runs scored (247), RBI (213) and sacrifice hits (54). The Bucs will look to carry this season's success into next year as they only lose two seniors from their 2007 squad and look to bring in another solid recruiting class for 2008.