NORFOLK, Va. – Four players from the Norfolk State softball team earned All-MEAC status when the conference office announced the end-of-year all-conference teams. In addition, head coach
James Inzana was voted the MEAC Coach of the Year.
Senior catcher
Kylee Lopez and junior outfielder
Shelby DesChamps were voted to the All-MEAC first team. Senior pitcher
Hunter Halford earned a spot on the second team, and sophomore pitcher
Skylar Swain was voted to the third team.
NSU has never had a coach of the year since joining the league prior to the 1998 season. This year's four All-MEAC honorees are the most since the program had its all-time record of seven in 2014.
Voting was done by the league's head coaches and sports information directors.
Inzana led the Spartans to the MEAC Northern Division title at 11-4, NSU's first regular season championship in the league. The Spartans sit 24-18 overall heading into the MEAC tournament beginning on Wednesday, guaranteeing a winning overall season for the first time since 2013. In just his second year with the program, Inzana also led the Spartans to 13 non-conference wins, the most since 2009.
Lopez was a second-team honoree at catcher a season ago. This year, she is hitting .331 with 29 runs on 44 hits, eight home runs and 36 RBI. She is tied for the league lead in homers, is second in RBI, and third in runners thrown out with 12. Earlier this season, she surpassed the school's career home run record. She is the only Spartan catcher to earn All-MEAC status twice in a career and the second along with Meghan Ramsey in 2009 to garner a spot on the first team.
DesChamps missed too many games a season ago to qualify for all-conference despite hitting better than .400. This year, she leads the team with a .386 average and has scored 39 runs on 56 hits with eight doubles, two triples, a home run, 16 RBI and 21 stolen bases. She stands first in the league in hitting but first in base hits, second in runs and fifth in stolen bases. DesChamps gives NSU an all-conference outfielder for the first time since 2014.
Halford leads a pitching staff that is tops in the MEAC with a 2.71 ERA. She leads the league in ERA at 2.49 while holding a 13-10 overall record with 89 strikeouts in 138.0 innings of work. She ranks fourth in the league in wins, is fifth in opponent batting average (.263) and sixth in strikeouts. Halford went 7-2 with a 1.77 ERA in MEAC games only. She gives the Spartans an all-conference pitcher for the first time since 2014.
Swain is right behind Halford in ERA at 2.52, posting an 8-6 record with three shutouts and 35 strikeouts in 86.0 innings. Like Halford, Swain too has pitched very well in MEAC play, posting a 3-1 record with a league-leading 1.22 ERA in conference games only. NSU has never had two All-MEAC pitchers in the same season, and it is the first time the program had two all-conference pitchers since 1993 in the CIAA.
The other major awards went to Damali Young of Morgan State (Player of the Year), Alexis Bermudez of Bethune-Cookman (Pitcher of the Year) and Kalita Dennis of Howard (Rookie of the Year).
As the No. 1 seed from the North, the Spartans will take on South No. 4 seed North Carolina A&T on Wednesday at noon at the Ormond Beach Sports Complex in Florida in the MEAC tournament opening round.
2019 All-MEAC Softball Teams
First Team
| Position |
Name |
School |
Class |
Hometown |
| P |
Alexis Bermudez |
Bethune-Cookman |
So. |
Santa Fe Springs, Fla. |
| P |
Kyaira Brown |
Florida A&M |
Jr. |
Tallahassee, Fla. |
| C |
Kylee Lopez |
Norfolk State |
Sr. |
Norfolk, Va. |
| 1B |
Cayla Brown |
Coppin State |
Jr. |
Matteson, Ill. |
| 2B |
Jasmine Melgoza |
Delaware State |
So. |
Huntington Beach, Calif. |
| SS |
Jacki Smith |
Bethune-Cookman |
Jr. |
Mount Vernon, Wash. |
| 3B |
Dalika Wallace |
North Carolina Central |
Jr. |
Newport News, Va. |
| OF |
Alexis Day |
Florida A&M |
Sr. |
Ocala, Fla. |
| OF |
Damali Young |
Morgan State |
Sr. |
Westhampton, N.J. |
| OF |
Shelby DesChamps |
Norfolk State |
R-Jr. |
Virginia Beach, Va. |
| UTL |
Olivia Daniel |
North Carolina Central |
So. |
Creedmoor, N.C. |
Second Team
| Position |
Name |
School |
Class |
Hometown |
| P |
Kiara Hurley |
North Carolina Central |
So. |
Maumee, Ohio |
| P |
Hunter Halford |
Norfolk State |
Sr. |
Jacksonville, N.C. |
| C |
Haylee Bobos |
Morgan State |
Jr. |
Wilkes-Barre, Pa. |
| 1B |
Xzarria Simmons |
Howard |
Fr. |
Jacksonville, N.C. |
| 2B |
Kalita Dennis |
Howard |
Fr. |
Elk Grove, Calif. |
| SS |
Jordan Casey |
Delaware State |
So. |
Fredericksburg, Va. |
| 3B |
Camille Navarro |
Howard |
Fr.. |
Los Angeles, Calif. |
| OF |
Tyra Bowers |
Florida A&M |
Sr. |
Eustis, Fla. |
| OF |
Stacie Smith |
Savannah State |
Fr. |
Metter, Ga. |
| OF |
Jonah Cunnigan |
Delaware State |
Fr. |
Torrence, Calif. |
| UTL |
Zadaisha Waddell |
North Carolina A&T |
Sr. |
Troy, N.C. |
Third Team
| Position |
Name |
School |
Class |
Hometown |
| P |
Stephanie Rundlett |
Morgan State |
Jr. |
York, Maine |
| P |
Skylar Swain |
Norfolk State |
So. |
Portsmouth, Va. |
| C |
Jaelyn Baker |
Delaware State |
Fr. |
Waldorf, Md. |
| 1B |
Taylor Rosier |
Florida A&M |
Sr. |
Tallahassee, Fla. |
| 2B |
Kimiya Watkins |
Florida A&M |
Fr. |
Winter Park, Fla. |
| SS |
Seriah Brokenborough |
Florida A&M |
Fr. |
Eustis, Fla. |
| 3B |
Hera Varmah |
Florida A&M |
So. |
Tampa, Fla. |
| OF |
Kaiya Epps-Lee |
Bethune-Cookman |
Jr. |
Lancaster, Calif. |
| OF |
Nadia Blevins |
North Carolina Central |
So. |
Four Oaks, N.C. |
| OF |
Brianna Paysinger |
Bethune-Cookman |
Jr. |
Hesperia, Calif. |
| UTL |
Damishah Charles |
Morgan State |
Sr. |
Amsterdam, Netherlands |
Player of the Year: Damali Young, Morgan State
Rookie of the Year: Kalita Dennis, Howard
Pitcher of the Year: Alexis Bermudez, Bethune-Cookman
Coach of the Year: James Inzana, Norfolk State
