2008 MVC Preseason Poll and All-Conference Team

University of Evansville seniors Brittany Herald and Laura Rather have been named to the 2008 preseason all-Missouri Valley Conference softball team by a vote of the league’s coaches.

Herald (Old Hickory, Tenn./Middle Tennessee State) was the only player to start all 53 games last year for the Aces. Herald led the team with a .993 fielding percentage and 413 putouts. Offensively, Herald led the Aces in almost every category. The first team all-conference player led the MVC with a .511 on-base percentage, 5 triples, and 34 walks. Her .388 batting average was third best in the MVC and second best in UE history.
 
Rather (Louisville, Ky./Mercy Academy) had a team-high 13 doubles, and her ten home runs were the third most in UE history. Rather finished fourth in the MVC behind Herald with a .648 slugging percentage. The senior was a first team all-conference selection and Mideast All-Region team member as chosen by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.

As a team, the Aces were picked to finish seventh in the Valley’s preseason poll. Seniors Herald, Rather, Jacki Bradley, and Cassey Kemna, will lead the team. Following a fifth place finish in 2007, the Aces return eight starters that bring a wealth of knowledge to the game.

“We have the talent to get to the top of the league,” says Coach Lewis. “In order to do that we need to break the game up into small segments. We need to be concerned with every step on the ladder, not the top of the ladder.”