GREENWOOD, S.C. — Claire Smeltzer and Emily Sappington were named to the Division II Conference Commissioner’s Association All-Southeast Region second team. The pair are the first TU honorees since 2021.
Smeltzer, a native of Smithfield, Virginia, was one of the primary threats at the plate for the Pioneers. The senior averaged a career-best .392 with a .455 on-base percentage and slugged .633. She leads the lineup in hits (65), RBI (50), and doubles (15), while adding 38 runs, two triples, seven homers, and 20 walks for 105 total bases. Smeltzer had 18 multi-hit games and team-best 15 multi-RBI contests. Her nine-game hitting streak is tied for the team’s longest, while she had an on-base streak of 18 games at her highest. In the field, Smeltzer had four outfield assists, aiding in a pair of double plays.
Sappington, of Ashburn, Va., goes down as one of the best pitchers in the program’s history, while also aiding the cause at the plate. The left-hander finished the season with 17 complete games across a career-high 29 appearances, tallying a best 189 strikeouts for a 9.21 strikeouts per seven innings rate. Sappington holds the program records in strikeouts (635) and saves (9), notching a high of 14 wins in 2024. At the plate, she averaged .327 with 17 hits (four for extra bases), alongside 10 runs batted in, nine walks, and five runs scored.
The Pioneers finished the season with a 30-22 record, the most wins for the program in a decade. TU has collected 20+ wins in 13-straight campaigns, excluding the shortened COVID season. This spans the entirety of head coach Julie Huebner’s tenure as well.
2024 D2CCA Softball All-Southeast Region
All-Region First Team
P – Tybee Denton, North Georgia
P – Alyssa Poston, Francis Marion
P – Laken Maxwell, Anderson
C – Georgia Blair, North Georgia
1B – Taylor Watford, Francis Marion
2B – Savanna Brooks, Wingate
3B – Kylie Emanuele, Mount Olive
SS – Emily Blackwell, North Greenville
OF – Emily Allen, Lander
OF – Jolie Lester, North Georgia
OF Courtlynn Cooney, Mount Olive
DP – Gracelyn Massey, Barton
UTL/P – Sydney Kale, Wingate
UTL – Macey Hughes, Carson-Newman
All-Region Second Team
P – Raechel Cutcher, Wingate
P – Hali Scott, Wingate
P – Miranda Holmes, Barton
C – Karlie Gutierrez, Georgia College and State
1B – Sophie Mooney, North Georgia
2B – Julia Mardigian, Lenoir-Rhyne
3B – Alyssa Adams, Emmanuel
SS – Hayden Dye, Carson-Newman
OF – Kaylee Hobgood, Wingate
OF – Mallory Parker, North Georgia
OF – Claire Smeltzer, Tusculum
DP – Carson Hobbs, Anderson
UTL/P – Emily Sappington, Tusculum
UTL – Kenzie Bayer, Columbus State
Player of the Year
Savanna Brooks, Wingate
Pitcher of the Year
Tybee Denton, North Georgia
