Big Ten Release

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – With the Big Ten Conference Softball Tournament just a day away, the conference announced its postseason honors on Wednesday (May 11) with a quartet of Illini earning All-Big Ten accolades. Senior Allie Bauch and junior Nicole Evans were each named Second-Team All-Big Ten honors, sophomore Carly Thomas and Bauch garnered spots on the All-Defensive Team and sophomore Jill Nicklas was selected as the Illini's Big Ten Sportsmanship Award Recipient.  

The honors continue to roll in for Bauch, who garnered the prestigious Big Ten Medal of Honor at the annual Fighting Illini All-Sports Celebration on April 26 and was recently named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District First-Team. It is the second-straight year the Schaumburg, Ill., native has earned All-Big Ten accolades after being named to the first-team a season ago.

Bauch, who was also named a Senior CLASS Award candidate earlier in the year, has started all 54 games at second base for the Illini. She is hitting .333, while leading the Illini with 44 runs scored and 23 walks. She also ranks among the team's top three in hits, doubles, triples, home runs, RBI, total bases, slugging percentage and on-base percentage. Bauch leads the Big Ten with four sacrifice flies and is fourth in the league with 14 double plays fielded. In conference action, she paces the Illini with a .329 batting average.

Defensively, the senior has proven to be one of the top second baseman in the Big Ten and has registered 142 putouts and 96 assists, while only committing nine errors for a .964 fielding percentage.

"Allie Bauch has proven herself to be one of the top competitors in our league," said head coach Tyra Perry. "She is very deserving of being named Second-Team All-Big Ten and to the All-Defensive Team. Allie has worked very hard throughout the season to reach her full potential in all aspects of the game. I am very proud of the player she has become."

Evans, who has started all 54 games at right field for the Illini, earns her first All-Big Ten accolade after leading the team with 50 RBI, 12 home runs, 16 doubles, 114 total bases and a .675 slugging percentage. She is batting at a .331 clip and ranks in the top-seven in the Big Ten in doubles, triples, total bases, home runs and RBI. Evans has posted a team-leading 14 games with multiple RBI, including knocking her first two career grand slams earlier in the year. 

"I can never say enough about Nicole Evans. She is a key to component to our success this season. Nicole is a leader on and off the field and always gives 100 percent effort at all times."

Thomas, who earned First-Team All-Big Ten honors after an impressive rookie campaign a season ago, earns a All-Defensive Team nod after being a mainstay in centerfield for the Illini for all 54 contests this season. Along with making numerous plays and diving catches in the outfield, Thomas ranked second on the team with a .978 fielding percentage, totaling 82 putouts and five assists, while only committing two errors all season.

Offensively, Thomas leads the Illini with 58 hits and ranks second with 37 runs and 12 doubles.

"Carly Thomas has made some amazing catches at key moments this season," Perry said. "She practices the way the that she plays and has set the bar high for all of our outfielders. Her confident approach makes our pitchers feel comfortable that if anything is hit in her area, she is going to give her all to make the play."

Nicklas, the fourth and final Illini to earn Big Ten honors after collecting the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award, is one the Illini's go-to pinch runners and has recorded nine runs and seven stolen bases in 30 appearances on the season. Nicklas has also been a catalyst for the Illini off the field, helping to organize community service events both in the Champaign-Urbana community, as well as during road trips at Purdue and Wisconsin.

"Our team is committed to serving the Champaign-Urbana community in whatever way possible," said Perry. "Jill Nicklas has dedicated herself to setting up service opportunities throughout the season for our team. Through her example, we have been able to interact with local elementary schools as well as participate in service projects while on the road for away games. Jill is a hard worker both on the field and in the classroom. She takes pride in playing her role to help our program reach new heights."

Michigan's Sierra Romero captured Player of the Year honors, teammate Megan Betsa was named the Pitcher of the Year and Minnesota's Maddie Houlihan was tabbed Freshman of the Year. Michigan's Carol Hutchins was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year.

This is the third time Romero earns the Big Ten Player of the Year accolade, doing so in 2013 and 2014 at short stop. She becomes only the second softball player in conference history to earn the honor three times as Northwestern's Garland Cooper did so from 2005-07. During her senior campaign, Romero led the Big Ten in multiple statistical categories, including batting average (.485), slugging percentage (.947), on-base percentage (.600) and RBI (70). She recorded a team-leading 16 home runs, was successful in 13-of-14 stolen base attempts and contributed with a .964 fielding percentage at second base. The Murrieta, Calif., native leads the nation with 1.46 RBI per game, is second with 1.40 runs per outing and holds the third-highest on-base percentage. She records the 19th Player of the Year distinction for Michigan.

Earning the honor for the second consecutive season, Betsa paced all conference pitchers with a 13-2 record and 135 strikeouts in Big Ten play, holding opposing hitters to a conference-leading .142 batting average. The McDonough, Ga., native recorded a 1.76 earned run average in conference contests with four shutouts and two saves. She is the third player in conference history to earn the honor in back-to-back years, with this season marking the 14th time that a Michigan player has been named Pitcher of the Year.

In conference play, Houlihan recorded a .464 batting average, ranking second in the Big Ten and claimed four Freshman of the Week honors. The utility player started all 50 games, recording a team-leading 11 home runs and going 8-for-9 in stolen bases. The Plymouth, Minn., native recorded 267 putouts in the field for a .972 fielding percentage. She becomes the fourth Gopher to claim Freshman of the Year honors and the first since Sara Groenewegen in 2014.

Hutchins helped guide the Wolverines to their ninth consecutive Big Ten Championship and the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. She became the all-time winningest coach in NCAA history as Michigan finished the season with a 21-2 conference mark, and 44-4 record overall, and enters the postseason ranked No. 2 in the major polls. Hutchins has been named Coach of the Year in seven of the last nine seasons and 16 times overall.

The seventh-seeded Illini will next take the field on Thursday (May 12) for the first round of the Big Ten Tournament, facing 10th-seeded Michigan State at 1:30 p.m. CT at the Nittany Lion Softball Park in University Park. Pa.

For more Fighting Illini softball news, stay tuned to FIGHTINGILLINI.com and follow the team on Twitter @IlliniSB or like Fighting Illini Softball on Facebook.

2016 Softball All-Conference Teams and Individual Awards

First Team All-Big Ten
MEGAN BETSA, Jr., P, MICH
SIERRA LAWRENCE, Sr., OF, MICH
SIERRA ROMERO, Sr., 2B, MICH
Kelsey Susalla, Sr., OF, MICH
SARA GROENEWEGEN, Jr., P, MINN
Maddie Houlihan, Fr., 1B, MINN
Sam Macken, Jr., 3B, MINN
MJ Knighten, Jr., 3B, NEB
Kiki Stokes, Sr., OF, NEB
Andrea Filler, Sr., SS, NU
Amy Letourneau, Sr., UT, NU
Alex Bayne, Jr., OF, OSU
Cammi Prantl, Sr., UT, OSU
Macy Jones, Sr., OF, PSU
Lexi Knief, Sr., OF, PSU
Alyssa VanDerveer, So., C, PSU
Lilly Fecho, Sr., P, PUR
Kelsey Jenkins, So., 3B, WIS

Second Team All-Big Ten
Allie Bauch, Sr., 2B, ILL
Nicole Evans, Jr., OF, ILL
Rebecca Blitz, So., OF, IND
Shannon Cawley, Sr., OF, IND
Holly Hoffman, Sr., C, IOWA
Sarah Calta, Jr., OF, MD
Tera Blanco, So., 1B, MICH
Sara Driesenga, Sr., P, MICH
Aidan Falk, So., C, MICH
Lindsay Montemarano, Jr., 3B, MICH
Sydney Dwyer, So., UT, MINN
Taylor LeMay, Sr., C, MINN
Mattie Fowler, Sr., 1B, NEB
Morgan Nelson, Fr., 3B, NU
Sabrina Rabin, So., OF, NU
Maddy McIntyre, Sr., SS, OSU
Taylor White, So., OF, OSU
Taylor-Paige Stewart, Sr., P, WIS

All-Defensive Team
P: Amy Letourneau, Sr., NU
C: Taylor LeMay, Sr., MINN
1B: Mattie Fowler, Sr., NEB
2B: Allie Bauch, Sr., ILL
SS: Maddy McIntyre, Sr., OSU
3B: Lindsay Montemarano, Jr., MICH
OF: Carly Thomas, So., ILL
OF: Sammi Gyerman, Jr., IOWA
OF: Alex Bayne, Jr., OSU

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Sierra Romero, Sr., MICH
PITCHER OF THE YEAR: Megan Betsa, Jr., MICH
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Maddie Houlihan, MINN
COACH OF THE YEAR: Carol Hutchins, MICH

Player in ALL CAPS denote unanimous selection

Sportsmanship Award Honorees: Jill Nicklas, ILL; Michelle Huber, IND; Sarah Kurtz, IOWA; Brenna Nation, MD; Lauren Connell, MICH; Kelly Zackrison, MSU; Paige Palkovich, MINN; Lotte Sjulin, NEB; Aubrie May, NU; Jayla Saibene, OSU; Shannon Good, PSU; Paris Andrew, PUR; Stephanie Huang, RU; Ashley Van Zeeland, WIS