The Georgia College Bobcats softball team placed six home-state based students on The Peach Belt Conference (PBC) team of academic distinction: Carly Behan, Sydney Newberry, Katelyn Hobbs, Brooke Lougher, MacKenzie Hoffman, and Ashley Schell.
Behan hails from Cumming, and just finished up her fourth-and-final season at GC. She earned her third Academic Distinction award in that time with a 3.82 final GPA in her major of marketing and minor in economics before graduating in May. Behan finished the season with a .282 batting average and two round-trippers. She also had three triples and four doubles. These stats earned her an All-PBC Second Team mention.
Springfield’s Newberry just completed her sophomore season as a Bobcat softball player. She also is a marketing major and has a 3.57 GPA after completing two years. Newberry ended the season with a .217 batting average and four doubles. She also had seven RBIs and 10 runs scored. This was the first year she was eligible for the honor.
Redshirt senior Hobbs, from Thomasville, completed her second year at GC after transferring from Tallahassee Community College. In her first year of eligibility for the honor, Hobbs earned a 3.56 GPA in exercise science. Unfortunately, Hobbs suffered a wrist injury early in the spring season after her first hit of the season delivered a home run. Hobbs will return next spring for her fifth year of NCAA eligibility.
Lougher, a junior from Suwanee, completed her third year at GC and was honored for the first time. She earned a GPA of 3.35 while majoring in exercise science with a physical education minor. Lougher ended the season with three doubles and a triple to bring in seven runs.
Rocky Face native Hoffman closed out her sophomore season with her first academic distinction honor. She also is an exercise science major with a minor in physical education and recorded a 3.64 GPA. Hoffman enjoyed a phenomenal season, leading the team in batting average and stolen bases. She was death by single followed by a stolen base as she posted a .350 batting average and swiped 13 bases. She also was named to the All-PBC Second Team.
The final honoree is Georgia Schell, a junior from Cumming. As she closed out her third season with the Bobcats, she recorded a 3.33 GPA in Rhetoric. This is the first academic honor for Schell, who ended the season with seven hits, including one double.
The Bobcats finished the season 12-32 with a PBC record of 4-20 and did not make the conference tournament. They will pick up the action in the fall with exhibition games and then resume conference play next spring.