RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – The Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) All-America Softball teams were announced on Wednesday evening and Conference Carolinas had three student-athletes earn the honor.

Kylie Emanuele of Mount Olive was named to the first team at third base while teammate Courtlynn Cooney Jr. was a third team selection in the outfield. Rikkelle Miller of King was named to the second team at utility.

A 2022 D2CCA First Team All-Region and NFCA All-American selection, Emanuele led Conference Carolinas in hitting this season with a .484 average (77-for-157), a .889 slugging percentage and 82 RBIs. She was named the 2022 Conference Carolinas Player of the Year and was named to the Schutt Sports/NFCA Division II National Player and Pitcher of the Year Top 25 award list. A junior infielder from Corona, Calif., Emanuele finished the season with 21 doubles, two triples and a school record 13 home runs. She also scored 45 times and was 21-for-21 on the bases. Her 82 RBIs lead all of Division II, while her average is third-best and doubles are sixth.

A senior catcher/infielder from Fayetteville, Ga., Miller hit .383 on the season and her solo home run in the 2022 Conference Carolinas Softball Championship gave the Tornado a 1-0 victory to secure the title. She ranks fourth in the southeast region with 15 home runs, sixth in hits (69), eighth in slugging percentage (.756), 10th in RBIs (49) and 13th in doubles (16). She also owns an OPS of 1.193. Miller was also selected to the 2022 Conference Carolinas Softball All-Tournament Team.

A 2022 D2CCA All-Region selection, Cooney was a 2022 Conference Carolinas First Team All-Conference outfielder and hit .442, second on the team for the Trojans and third-most overall in Conference Carolinas. A junior outfielder from Mechanicsville, Md., Cooney led the conference in runs scored (65) and stolen bases (46-of-47). She slugged .553 with a 1.034 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) with 11 doubles, five triples and 33 RBIs. She currently ranks fifth in the NCAA in runs scored and stolen bases.

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TIGERVILLE, S.C. – Both Mount Olive and North Greenville bowed out of the 2021 NCAA Division II Baseball Southeast Regional on Saturday, May 29.

North Greenville dropped a heartbreaker to Columbus State, 10-9, to close out its tremendous 2021 season that included a Conference Carolinas Tournament title.

The two teams would be tied up at 5-5 after three innings, but Columbus State was up 8-6 after six innings. The two would be tied at 8-8, but a two-run top of the ninth inning for Columbus State would prove to be the difference. North Greenville would add a single run in the bottom of the inning with a Brady West solo home run to cut the Columbus State lead to one, but the Crusaders would not be able to get any closer in their season-ending loss.

Ethan Stringer, West and Pat Monteith each had two hits for North Greenville in the loss.

To see the full box score, please visit HERE.

Mount Olive had to play over 20 innings of baseball in the final day of its 2021 season with its day starting by finishing out its game from the night before against Wingate that had been suspended the night before due to inclement weather.

To see the full box score from its 19-6 loss to Wingate in the game that initially started on May 28, please visit HERE.

The 2021 Conference Carolinas regular season champions responded in a game that started less than an hour after finishing its suspended game by besting Catawba, 6-5.

Mount Olive held a 6-1 lead in the game through five innings, but had to hold strong in the final two innings to capture the one-run win. Catawba posted four runs in the bottom of the eighth to pull within two runs. They would add another run in the bottom of the ninth, but reliever Blake Gipson forced Catawba into a game-ending double play to secure the thrilling win.

To see the full box score from the win over Catawba, please visit HERE.

The win over Catawba earned Mount Olive the chance to face Wingate again, but despite rallying late the Trojans were not able to best the Bulldogs in an 11-5 season-ending loss.

To see the full box score, please visit HERE.

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