Cole Named to District 5 First Team in Softball

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Published on May 8 2014 7:55 am
Last Updated on May 8 2014 7:55 am
Written by Millie Lange

Eight Ohio Valley Conference softball student-athletes were named to the Capital One Academic All-District First Team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Eastern Illinois leads the way with three selections while Eastern Kentucky and Jacksonville State each had two picks and Murray State had one selection.

Eastern Kentucky's Leanna Pittensbarger and Christina Ciolek; and Murray State's Leslie Bridges were named to the District 2 first team while Jacksonville State's Sara Borders and Amanda Maldonado earned District 4 first team honors. Eastern Illinois' Stephanie Maday, Hannah Cole and Brooke Owens were selected to the District 5 first team.

Returning First Team All-OVC honoree, and league player of the year runner-up, Cole, a Windsor High School graduate, currently paces all Panthers with a .338 hitting %, off 53 hits, four triples, 86 total bases and a .548 slug %, which are all team-highs.  She also has eight stolen bases on the year and 213 total put-outs as the EIU squad's leading catcher. The nearby Windsor native has previously earned OVC 'Player of the Week' honors while already ranking in the EIU career Top 5 for batting average and slug %, while owning 17 multiple-hit and seven multi-RBI games this season.

A native of Elk Grove Village, Maday sports a perfect 4.00 GPA as an elementary education major, while the senior is also about to receive a minor in Spanish.  During the recent EIU senior awards banquet, Maday earned the prestigious Presidential Award for her classroom accolades. On the field, the right-handed pitcher has already earned four career All-Ohio Valley Conference honors, including First Team kudos in 2012.  She had previously been tabbed Second Team awards both last spring and back in 2011, while also earning All-Newcomer Team honors as a freshman.

A kinesiology and sports studies major, with an additional business minor, Owens owns an overall 3.79 GPA as she has been a three-year starter for EIU after she transferred from Wabash Valley CC prior to the 2012 season. The Vincennes, Ind., native is among the top Panther hitters as she leads in runs a doubles, while among the top stat holders in hits, triples, home runs, RBI, total bases and slug %.  In career numbers, even though she has worn the Panther blue for just three years, she's already among the top EIU hitters thanks to Top 10 marks in home runs, slugging %, and hit-by-pitch.