Patriot trio on PBC All-Academic Softball Team

Three seniors on the Francis Marion University softball team were among 18 players recently named to the 2010 Peach Belt Conference Softball All-Academic Team: third baseman Kat Beauvais, left-handed pitcher Michaela Wolf, and leftfielder Jessica Birchmeier.

Beauvais and Wolf were named to the first team, while Birchmeier was a second-team selection.  All three were also named to the 2009 squad as juniors.  The trio graduated earlier this month: Beauvais with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree (cum laude), Wolf with a Bachelor of Arts degree (cum laude), and Birchmeier with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree.

To be eligible for the All-Academic team, a student-athlete must participate in at least half of her team’s events and be either a starter or significant contributor; have achieved a 3.20 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale), and completed at least one full academic year at her current institution.

Francis Marion finished its season with a 36-16 mark and made its second NCAA Tournament appearance in the past three years, finishing second at the Dahlonega (Ga.) Regional.

Beauvais, a native of Manassas, Va., has a 3.64 GPA as a management major.  She batted .322 with 44 runs scored, nine doubles, two home runs, and 25 runs batted in.  While manning the Patriots’ lead-off position in the batting order, she compiled a .401 on-base percentage and was 16-of-18 in stolen bases.

Wolf, a native of Littleton, Colo., has a 3.58 GPA as a mass communications major.  She posted a 22-9 pitching record with one save and a 2.13 earned run average this spring.  She fanned 172 batters in 197.1 innings, while walking only 47.  At the plate, Wolf hit a team-leading .395 with eight doubles, four home runs, 34 RBIs, and a .521 on-base percentage – which ranks second in the PBC.

Birchmeier, a native of Port Richey, Fla., is an accounting major and has compiled a 3.41 GPA.  Last season, she batted .282 with 30 runs scored, nine doubles, four homers, and 32 RBIs.

All three were members of Chi Alpha Sigma national college athlete honor society, are past NFCA All-American Scholar-Athletes, and have been named to the PBC Presidential and FMU Swamp Fox Athletic-Academic honors rolls. Beauvais and Birchmeier were members of Beta Gamma Sigma honor society, while Beauvais received the Management Award at the school’s 2010 Academic Awards Day ceremony and Birchmeier was a past officer for the university’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). 

       Michaela Wolf                         Kat Beauvais                     Jessica Birchmeier