Photo Gallery

DAYTON, Ohio -  The Flyer softball team held its annual awards banquet Friday on the campus of the University of Dayton. Head Coach Cara Clark announced the awards, that were determined by a vote of the team. Junior Molly Meyer was named UD's Most Valuable Player. Freshman Lauren Nacke was honored as Offensive Player of the Year, as well as the Rookie of the Year. Senior Katie Jordan garnered the Defensive Player of the Year award, and freshman Courtney Kutsulis was named Most Improved Player.

Meyer, of Elk Grove, Ill., has been the spark in UD's offense all season as leadoff. She paces the Flyers in several offensive categories this season, including; .374 batting average, 13 doubles, three triples, 11 stolen bases, an on-base percentage of .446, and a slugging percentage of .544. Meyer also leads the A-10 in runs scored and doubles. She recently broke UD's single-season (46) and career (99) records for runs scored.

Nacke, a native of Greenwood, Ind., hit her stride in midseason and has been unstoppable since. In less than a month's time, she was named Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week three times. Since hitting her first home run on March 31, she has been on fire with a 1.038 slugging percentage, and is hitting a team-best .442 with 10 home runs and 28 RBI. In Atlantic 10-only games Nacke leads the conference in RBI (20), total bases (39) and home runs (7).

Starting at second base in all 45 games, Jordan has been a wall. She leads the team in double pays turned with 11, and has helped UD to the top of the A-10 in that category with 18. Jordan, of Beavercreek, Ohio, is second on the team with 76 assists, third in chances with 198 and fourth in putouts with 110.

Homer Glen, Ill. native Kutsulis improved her batting average by more than 56 points in the second half of the season. Her fielding percentage improved by more than 30 points from the first half to the second part of the season at catcher. Kutsulis had three home runs down the stretch, and had 11 of her 12 RBI in the last half of the season.