Posted: May 12, 2011
Freshman pitcher Aubrey Utley (Trenton, Mo.), the HAAC pitcher-of-the-year, led four CMU players on the All-HAAC first team. Utley was joined on the All-HAAC first team by senior third baseman Stephanie Sullivant (Liberty, Mo.), sophomore shortstop Jordyn Tolliver (Centralia, Mo.) and sophomore center fielder Erika Reinagel (Kelso, Mo.). Junior catcher Rebecca Lipsey (New Hartford, Mo.) was the lone second-team selection for the Lady Eagles, while senior pitcher/designated player Danielle Taylor (Milan, Mo.), junior right fielder Kelsey Johnley (Troy, Mo.), freshman second baseman/left fielder Mary Kate Townley (O'Fallon, Mo.) and junior first baseman Kayla Yount (Olathe, Kan.) all received honorable mention recognition. In addition, Taylor was named the HAAC Gold Glove pitcher.
Utley was named the HAAC pitcher-of-the year and first-team All-HAAC after becoming the first CMU pitcher in school history to surpass 20 wins in a season. She finished 2011 with an overall record of 24-4 with one save in 32 appearances. Utley also set a Central Methodist single-season record with 10 shutouts in 24 complete games. In her first collegiate season, Utley posted a 1.25 ERA in 184 2/3 innings of work. She finished with 138 strikeouts on the season, ranking her fifth on CMU's single-season strikeouts list. Utley ranks eighth in the NAIA with 24 wins and 14th in the nation with her 1.25 ERA, while leading the HAAC this season in ERA, innings pitched, and wins. Utley was selected as the HAAC pitcher-of-the-week on back-to-back weeks in March.
Sullivant received first-team All-HAAC honors for the third straight season after leading CMU in hits, RBIs, and doubles. She recorded a team-high 70 hits while batting 0.378 this year, and also had 34 runs scored. In her senior season, Sullivant tied her own CMU single-season record with 20 doubles, which ranks sixth in the NAIA this season. With a team-leading 50 RBIs this season, Sullivant broke the CMU career RBI record, finishing her career with 149 RBIs. She also had six homeruns on the season, giving her a CMU record 17 career homeruns. Sullivant, who has been a CMU team captain for the past two seasons, was recently recognized on the Capital One Academic All-District First Team. This year, Sullivant received the Darla Pannier Outstanding Female Athlete Award, given each year to the most outstanding senior female athlete at Central Methodist. During her four-year career with the Lady Eagles, Sullivant played in 208 of 212 games, starting in 206 of those contests.
Tolliver earned All-HAAC first-team honors in her first season at Central Methodist. Tolliver led the Lady Eagles with a CMU single-season record nine homeruns. She also ranked second on the team with 15 doubles and 45 RBIs. Tolliver batted 0.337 on the season with a team-best slugging percentage of 0.586, while starting in 53 of 56 games played. Tolliver also ranked second on the team with 38 runs scored on the season. Tolliver was selected as the HAAC softball player-of-the-week on March 28 after batting 0.533 with three doubles and two homeruns in four wins for the Lady Eagles that week.
Reinagel was a 2011 first-team All-HAAC selection after receiving second-team honors as a freshman last season. This year, Reinagel had a 0.345 batting average while ranking second on the team with 60 hits. As the leadoff batter, Reinagel led the Lady Eagles with 57 runs scored and five triples on the season, while also recording two doubles and 14 RBIs. Her 57 runs scored ranks 14th in the NAIA this season. Reinagel also finished with seven sacrifice hits on the season, while posting a team-high 22 steals on the season. She started at center field in 55 of 56 games played in 2011 for the Lady Eagles.
Lipsey, who was recognized as the HAAC Gold Glove catcher a year ago, received second-team All-HAAC honors for the first time in her career. Lipsey finished the season with 44 hits and 30 RBIs, while batting 0.308. She had 10 doubles and ranked second on the team with six homeruns on the season, while scoring 18 runs. Lipsey also drew a team-high 22 walks on the season. Defensively, she finished the season with a 1.000 fielding percentage, while starting in 52 of 53 games played.
Taylor earned honorable mention All-HAAC honors, while also being selected as the 2011 HAAC Gold Glove pitcher. Offensively, Taylor finished the season with a 0.322 batting average. She had 38 hits on the season, including three doubles and three homeruns, while recording 19 RBIs and 19 runs scored. As a pitcher, Taylor finished the season with a 10-8 record, including four shutouts, in 23 appearances. She posted a 2.78 ERA on the season, and recorded 44 strikeouts in 115 2/3 innings of work. Taylor had a 0.981 fielding percentage on the season as well. She started in 47 of 48 games played on the season for CMU.
Johnley received All-HAAC honorable mention honors this season after being named to the All-HAAC second team in her first two seasons. Johnley finished the 2011 season with 42 hits and 26 RBIs, while batting 0.244 for the Lady Eagles. She had 38 runs scored on the season, along with eight doubles, one triple and three homeruns. Johnley led the team with nine sacrifice hits on the season, while also recording 17 stolen bases to move into the top five on CMU's career stolen bases list. Johnley started all 55 games she played in this season.
Townley joined Utley as the lone freshman to receive All-HAAC honors for the Lady Eagles. Townley was an All-HAAC honorable mention honoree after batting 0.308, while starting 46 of 50 games played for the Lady Eagles in her first collegiate season. Townley, who played both second base and in the outfield for CMU this season, posted 39 hits and 16 RBIs on the season. She had a 0.481 slugging percentage after recording 12 doubles, one triple and three homeruns for the Lady Eagles. 
Yount was an All-HAAC honorable mention honoree for the first time in her career after starting in 54 of 55 games played for Central Methodist this season. Yount finished her junior season with 49 hits, including 12 doubles, one triple and one homerun, while batting 0.283. She ranked third on the CMU squad with 36 RBIs in 2011, and also had 22 runs scored. Defensively, Yount had an outstanding season at first base for the Lady Eagles, finishing with a 0.995 fielding percentage, while setting CMU single-season records for chances and put outs. Yount's 438 chances and 418 put outs rank her in the top five in the NAIA in both categories this season. In addition, Yount was named to the Capital One Academic All-District Second Team released last week.CMU's nine All-HAAC honorees helped lead the Lady Eagles to the 2011 HAAC regular-season championship. Central Methodist finished the season with an overall record of 41-15, the best record in school history, while playing in the HAAC tournament championship series for the fourth straight season. Head Coach Pat Reardon was also recognized as the HAAC coach-of-the-year this season, which was released earlier this week.
To see the complete 2011 All-HAAC Softball Teams, visit www.haacsports.com.
