May 18, 2011
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IOWA CITY, Iowa — Juniors Liz Watkins and Katie Keim of the University of Iowa softball team were honored as all-Big Ten selections, the league office announced Wednesday. Watkins was tabbed as a second team honoree, while Keim was selected to the third team.
Watkins, the second team catcher, earned her third career all-Big Ten honor after leading the Hawkeyes with a .319 batting average during Big Ten play. The Taylor Ridge, Ill., native paced the squad with 18 RBI, while belting three home runs. She started all 20 games behind the plate, where she threw out a Big Ten best 11 base runners.
Watkins, who was twice named the Big Ten Player of the Week during the 2011 season, was a second team all-Big Ten selection as a sophomore and a third team honoree as a freshman.
Keim earned her second career all-conference honor, after hitting .282 with 13 runs scored, 10 RBI and four home runs in league action. The Chesterfield, Mo., native, who was the only second baseman on the third team, had a 10-game hitting streak late in the season for the Hawkeyes, which included a stretch of three straight games with home runs.
Keim previously was a third team all-Big Ten selection in 2009 following her freshman season.
Senior Chelsey Carmody was Iowa’s Sportsmanship Award honoree. The accolade is presented to individuals on each team who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. These student-athletes must also be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting.
Michigan received two of the four individual awards, as Amanda Chidester was selected as the Player of the Year, and Carol Hutchins was tabbed as the Coach of the Year. Indiana’s Morgan Melloh earned Pitcher of the Year honors, while Minnesota pitcher Sara Moulton was selected as the conference’s Freshman of the Year.