May 13, 2011
By Jon Cooper
Sting Daily
– The Atlantic Coast Conference named its all-conference teams on Friday and, reflective of the season itself, Georgia Tech dominated.
Seven Yellow Jackets players were named All-ACC first- or second-team, with shortstop Kelsi Weseman earning ACC Player of the Year, and head coach Sharon Perkins was named ACC Coach of the Year for the third straight season.
Joining Weseman on the first team were senior pitcher Kristen Adkins, sophomore first baseman Caitlin Jordan, and freshman C/3B Alysha Rudnik.
Second-teamers included a pair of seniors, outfielder Christy Jones and first baseman Kristine Priebe, and junior outfielder Jessica Sinclair.
Perkins led her squad to another runaway ACC regular season championship, going 44-9, 18-2 in the ACC. Perkins, in her fifth season at Georgia Tech, is the winningest coach in the ACC since 2007 and brings a 227-82 record (a .735 winning percentage) into the weekend’s ACC Tournament.
For Weseman, postseason honors are nothing new. She was ACC Freshman of the year in 2009 and has been All-ACC first team all three years on The Flats. Her winning Player of the Year made it two straight seasons the Jackets have taken home the award.
The talented shortstop led the ACC in hitting (.445), slugging (1.034), on-base percentage (.560), runs (51), hits (65), RBI (64), doubles (17), homers (21), total bases (151) and — not surprisingly from pitchers’ point of view — hit by pitches (14).
Adkins, a second-team pick in 2009, graduated to the first-team in `11, by going 20-5 with a 1.49 ERA. She was second in the conference in wins, while her ERA was the lowest in the conference. Her five saves led the conference, while she also finished in the top 10 in innings (155 1/3), strikeouts (133) and opponent batting average (.196). Adikins had 13 complete games, seven shutouts (five solos) and was 9-1 in ACC play with a 1.79 ERA.
Jordan earned first-team honors with a .413 batting average, seven homers and 13 RBIs. In conference play, she hit .487 with six homers and 11 RBIs, getting a hit in 13 of the 14 games in which she played. She had a .762 slugging average and a .448 on-base percentage for the season and had a three-homer game April 23 at Virginia.
Rudnik proudly represents Tech’s amazing freshman class, after batting .324, with 16 homers (second in the ACC, 17th in the nation), 39 RBIs, a .738 slugging percentage and a .421 OBP.
Second-team All-ACC honors made a nice cap on Jones’ senior season. Hitting primarily out of the leadoff spot, the speedy centerfielder earned her second All-ACC second-team selection by hitting .342 with 31 runs, 53 hits, seven RBIs, a .342 slugging percentage and a .414 on-base percentage. She was 33-for-38 in stolen bases, and her 95 career steals rank third all-time in school history.
Priebe made it two-for-two in All-ACC Second-Team honors, getting the nod again in 2011. She hit .341, scored 37 runs (sixth in the conference), had 47 hits, and was top-10 in doubles (10, ninth), triples (3, third), homers (13, tied for third), RBIs (47, third), and slugging percentage (.739, third). She’ll leave Georgia Tech third all-time in slugging and on-base percentage.
Sinclair was rewarded for her perseverance, by earning second-team All-ACC honors for the first time. Coming back from a torn ACL, Sinclair had career-bests in hitting (.316), homers (12), RBIs (25), slugging (.737) and on-base percentage (.398).
Georgia Tech did leave some awards for the rest of the conference’s players. Among those honored were Maryland senior Kerry Hickey, named ACC Pitcher of the Year, and Boston College outfielder Tory Speer, named Freshman of the Year.
