Rock Hill, S.C.----Wingate University freshman Heaven Maness picked up a pair of honors Thursday morning when the 2021 South Atlantic Conference softball regular season awards were announced. Maness and Aubrey Reep have both earned first team All-SAC honors, while Maness has been named the league's Freshman of the Year.

Maness is the fifth Bulldog to earn SAC Freshman of the Year honors and the first since Hallie Pettigrew in 2006. Wingate had three in a four-year span from 1999-2002 (Angela Whittaker, Katie Wallace and Jennifer Whited).

Maness had an impressive freshman season for the Bulldogs, leading the SAC with a .429 batting average. She has 12 doubles, four triples and five homers, driving in 35 runs and scoring 28 runs while adding 14 stolen bases.She ranks third in the SAC in triples, fifth in slugging percentage, sixth in doubles, seventh in RBI and stolen bases and 10th in on-base percentage.

Reep earns All-SAC honors for the third straight season. The 2019 SAC Player of the Year earned first team All-SAC and All-Region accolades in her junior season. The school's all-time leader in strikeouts had another big year at the plate and in the circle for the Bulldogs. She hit .302 with four homers, seven doubles, 21 RBI and 13 runs scored. Reep went 8-4 on the year with a 2.63 ERA and 83 strikeouts in 90 innings of work. She ranks in the top 10 in the SAC in wins, ERA, saves and strikeouts.

Wingate is back in action Friday in the opening round of the SAC Tournament. The fourth-seeded Bulldogs face fifth-seeded Carson-Newman Friday at 11 a.m. in Greeneville, Tenn. The winner advances to the semifinals Saturday at noon, while the championship game is slated for Saturday at 5 p.m.

2021 SAC Softball All-Conference

All-SAC First Team
OF – Savannah Moorefield, Lenoir-Rhyne
OF – McKenzie Barneycastle, Newberry
OF – Sydney Goertzen, Catawba
1B – Kayson Boatner, Anderson
2B – Ty-Kella Goins, Lincoln Memorial
SS – Sierra Hucklebee, Lincoln Memorial
3B – Heaven Maness, Wingate
DP – Audrey Petoskey, Lincoln Memorial
UTL/Non-P – Kylee Leonhardt, Lenoir-Rhyne
UTL/P - Aubrey Reep, Wingate
C – Katie Russell, UVA Wise
P – Emma Frost, Lincoln Memorial
P – Harlie Duncan, Anderson

All-SAC Second Team
OF – Macey Hughes, Carson-Newman
OF – Madison Henry, Lincoln Memorial
OF – Matti Cantrell, Anderson
1B – Emma Webb, Lincoln Memorial
2B – Katie Wilbur, Limestone
SS – Jordan Dean, Catawba
3B – Hannah Towery, Newberry
DP – McKenna Falwell, UVA Wise
UTL/Non-P – Carlee Brawley, Catawba
UTL/P - Lacie Rinus, Carson-Newman
C – KaraLynne Levi, Carson-Newman
P – Morgan Beeler, Lenoir-Rhyne
P – Alexandrea Sullivan, Newberry

Honorable Mention
OF – Kelsi Scott, Coker
OF – Anna Alloway, Tusculum
OF – Paige Meyer, Newberry
1B – Haley Simonds, Newberry
2B – Sarah Barrett, UVA Wise
SS – Leah Sohm, Carson-Newman
3B – Ashley Evans, Mars Hill
DP – Hailey Hill, Newberry
UTL/Non-P – Ashley Parnell, Limestone
UTL/P - Lauren Rakes, Lenoir-Rhyne
C – Mikayla Goodwin, Coker
P – Madison Hunter, Catawba
P – Marissa Adame, Mars Hill

Freshman of the Year: Heaven Maness, Wingate
Player of the Year: Ty-Kella Goins, Lincoln Memorial
Pitcher of the Year: Emma Frost, Lincoln Memorial
Coach of the Year: Ritchie Richardson, Lincoln Memorial