Three Marlins named All-Virginia; Creech is Rookie of the Year

LYNCHBURG, Va. -- For the first time in its long, successful softball history, Virginia Wesleyan College has its first Virginia College Division Rookie of the Year.

MacKenzie Creech (Hillsborough, N.C./Orange) (left), the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year, added the state honor to her 2011 list of awards following an outstanding intercollegiate debut. 

She was one of three Marlins to be honored by the Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID), as junior Jaclyn Quinn (Chesapeake, Va./Hickory) was named All-Virginia first team for the second consecutive year and rookie Season Dailey (Norfolk, Va./Virginia Beach Frank W. Cox) was named to the second team.

Creech is the fourth VWC pitcher to earn All-Virginia recognition, and the third since 2005.  She pitched 160.1 innings for the Marlins this season and posted a 1.83 earned run average, the second best ever posted by a Virginia Wesleyan rookie.  She recorded an ODAC-leading 30 appearances, 22 starts and 15 complete games en route to an 18-6 record, which set the VWC rookie record for victories. 

Creech also set the Marlin rookie record for strikeouts with 158, a total that led the ODAC and ranked No. 27 among NCAA Divsion III leaders.  She also ranked No. 23 nationally in victories and No. 48 in ERA.

Quinn (left), the first VWC catcher to be honored twice by VaSID,  belted a league-leading 18 doubles this season, the third highest single-season total in Virginia Wesleyan softball history and the 15th highest total in NCAA Division III.  A 2011 first-team All-ODAC honoree, Quinn started in all 40 VWC games and hit at a .383 clip, leading the team with 115 at-bats, 44 hits, 39 runs batted in and 77 total bases.  She also ranked second for the Marlins with 206 putouts. Quinn ranked No. 3 in the ODAC with a .670 slugging percentage, No. 4 in RBI and No. 7 in total bases. 

Dailey (left), a second-team All-ODAC honoree earlier this year, emerged as a power hitter for the Marlins, belting a team-leading six.  That set a VWC rookie record for homers.  She started in all 40 games for the Marlins and posted a .304 batting average, connecting for 31 hits in 102 at bats.  She also recorded 22 RBI and 53 total bases, and led the Marlins with 211 put outs.

The 2011 Old Dominion Athletic Conference champion, Virginia Wesleyan posted a 29-11 record and advanced to the NCAA Division III championship tournament.  VWC posted its 26th winning season in 30 years of competition and its 24th season with 20+ victories.

--AMDG--