Three Trojans Receive Postseason Crossroads League Softball Awards

Crossroads League Release I TU Athletic Honors Page

HARTFORD CITY, Ind. – Freshman Davis Carter and sophomore Alex Lovelace of Taylor softball have each been named to the All-Crossroads League Team, while sophomore Lauren Ehle earned Honorable-Mention honors as recently announced by the league office.

Carter, who is from Greenwood, Indiana and attended Greenwood Community High School, had an excellent freshman season for Taylor playing primarily at catcher and in the designated player role. Carter played in 49 games and started in 46, usually slotted in the No. 5 spot in the Taylor batting order. Hitting from the right side, Carter was second on the team in batting average (.429) while leading the team in RBI (51) and slugging percentage (.701) Carter also was able to put together a ten-game hitting streak coinciding with Taylor's ten-game winning streak.

Additionally, Carter was named the Crossroads League Player of the Week for her play from March 30 through April 5. Carter was one of three Trojans to total nine home runs on the season along with Ehle and Morgan Allison, which ranked No. 3 in the Crossroads League. Her 51 RBI also ranked No. 3 in the Crossroads League and 36th overall in the nation. Carter consistently put the ball into play and struck out just four times the entire season. Her numbers were particularly impressive at home on Gudakunst Field, helping Taylor to a 14-4 record by batting .644 with six home runs, 22 RBI, a slugging percentage of 1.156, on-base percentage of .660 and 15 runs scored.

Lovelace earned the recognition for the second time in as many seasons, as the returning NAIA Second-Team All-American and Crossroads League Player of the Year in 2014 made big contributions once again in centerfield and from the plate as Taylor's leadoff hitter, starting in all 52 games. Lovelace currently ranks No. 4 in the nation with a total of 82 hits, averaging nearly 1.58 knocks per game, which is seventh most in the NAIA. The left-handed batter led Taylor in batting average (.448), on-base percentage (.507), runs scored (50), walks (22) and stolen bases (18). Her .448 batting average is the fourth-highest mark in the Crossroads League and she produced 27 multi-hit games with an 11 game hitting streak, ten of those games being TU victories.

The rangy centerfielder also has yet to make an error in her collegiate career and was one of two Trojans to earn a Golden Glove award along with teammate Ashley Miller at first base. Lovelace was twice named the Crossroads League Player of the Week in the 2015 campaign and has now earned the award three times in two seasons. Lovelace performed well in the recent Crossroads League Tournament to be named to the All-Tournament Team, helping Taylor advance to make its second consecutive tournament final appearance.

The sophomore Ehle was named Honorable-Mention All-Crossroads League for her play in 2015, joining Lovelace and Anna Gunderson as one of three players to start in all 52 contests for Taylor. Ehle is also a returning Second-Team NAIA All-American from 2014, joining Lovelace as the first two players in program history to receive All-American recognition. In her second season for head coach Brad Bowser, Ehle batted .333 on the year from the heart of the batting order and was second on the Taylor squad in runs scored (49) and RBI (38). Ehle had the third most hits for Taylor with 59 on the year while possessing a slugging percentage of .559 with a team-high nine home runs to rank third in the Crossroads League. After spending time at both catcher and third base in her freshman season, Ehle played the hot corner for Taylor in 2015 and was strong defensively with a .952 fielding percentage in 147 chances.

For a complete list of the 2015 Crossroads League softball award winners, please see the Crossroads release provided above. Also provided is a link to the TU Athletic Honors Page, which includes a listing of all honors obtained by Taylor athletes and coaches in any sport during the past three school years.

Taylor (36-16) received votes in the most recent NAIA Top-25 poll and still may hold an outside chance of obtaining an at-large bid into the NAIA National Tournament's 40 team field. Those 40 teams will be announced on May 7 at 5:00 p.m., followed by a video selection show announcing the pairings and brackets at 7 p.m.