Tuesday, May 07, 2002

Johnson City, Tenn. (May 7, 2002) -- East Tennessee State senior designated player Melanie Collins (Greeneville, Tenn.) and freshman shortstop Mary Beth Hazelwood (Knoxville, Tenn.) were named to the All-Tournament Team following Monday's championship game of the Southern Conference Softball Championships from Chattanooga, Tenn. Hazelwood batted a blistering .545 (6-11) in ETSU's four games over the weekend, tops of any player in the tournament. She also scored five runs, hit a double and drove in a run. Her best game of the tournament came on Thursday as the Bucs defeated College of Charleston, 12-6. Hazelwood went 2-3 with an RBI and two runs scored. Collins finished second on the team, batting .500 (6-12) in the tournament. Melanie drove in four runs, scored three and walked on three occasions. Collins was perfect against College of Charleston on Thursday, going 2-2 at the plate. She had two RBI in two games on Sunday, in the 4-3 win over UNC Greensboro and the 7-6 loss to Furman. East Tennessee State finished fourth in the Southern Conference Softball Championships, tallying a 2-2 record. The Bucs opened the tournament with a 12-6 victory over College of Charleston that featured 10 tournament records getting tied or broken. After rain postponed play for the better part of three days, ETSU returned to the field on Sunday where they fell to eventual champion Chattanooga, 7-1, defeated UNC Greensboro, 4-3, and were eliminated by Furman, 7-6. The Buccaneers conclude their season with a 25-32 record, 11 wins more than last year's inaugural season of play.