FRISCO, Texas –  After claiming 21 wins in league play for the third time in the last four years, the Nicholls State University softball team received a league-high six honorees on the 2019 All-Southland Team, as the Southland Conference announced Tuesday morning its postseason awards.

Seniors headlined the selections for the Red and Gray, with pitcher Megan Landry and catcher Kali Clement landing on first team, while shortstop Amanda Gianelloni and center fielder Kasey Frederick were named second team. Junior Samantha Dares was honored with third-team recognition at first base and was joined by sophomore third baseman Caitlin Garcia.

Serving as the ace of the Colonel pitching staff, Landry repeated as a first-team honoree after guiding Nicholls to the 31st best ERA in the NCAA at 2.26. A three-time Southland Pitcher of the Week, she finished the regular season tied for eighth in the nation in victories by compiling an impressive 25-10 overall record with a 1.70 ERA and one save. The Pierre Part native ranked 13th in the NCAA in shutouts with nine, which included three in conference against the tournament field. In Southland play, Landry finished with a 16-3 mark in the circle and led the league with a 1.16 ERA.

A four-year starter for Nicholls, Landry earned All-Southland honors in all four seasons. Before her consecutive first-team selections, she was a third-team honoree as a sophomore and garnered honorable mention in her freshman campaign.

Megan Landry repeats as a First-Team @SouthlandSports selection after notching a conference-best 2️⃣5️⃣ wins to go along with a 1.70 ERA and 172 strikeouts. #GeauxColonels pic.twitter.com/E2N6xIkqx8

— Nicholls Softball (@Nicholls_SB) May 7, 2019

Playing in just her second season for the Red and Gray, Clement also earned her second straight All-Southland nod after taking Newcomer of the Year and second team last year. Clement hit .375 with six home runs and 21 RBIs and was even more impressive in conference play with a league-leading .410 batting average. For the season, the Thibodaux native ranked third in the Southland in batting, fourth in slugging percentage (.641) and led the conference in on-base (.505). She was also the main catcher with 43 starts behind the plate.

With a .4️⃣1️⃣0️⃣ league-best batting average in conference games, Kali Clement landed on @SouthlandSports First Team.  #GeauxColonels pic.twitter.com/ClFrJLJkXI

— Nicholls Softball (@Nicholls_SB) May 7, 2019

A two-time first-team selection, Frederick posted another outstanding season at the plate in conference with a .313 batting average and tied for fifth with 21 RBIs, earning second-team honors. Nine of her hits went for extra bases as she totaled four doubles, three homers, and tied for third with two triples. The Bridge City, Texas native also tied for second in sacrifice flies and was fifth in sacrifices. For the year, Frederick had a team-high 10 multi-RBI games and totaled 33 RBIs with five homers. In the outfield, she made several highlight plays and finished with only one error.

Kasey Frederick earns her third consecutive @SouthlandSports recognition, landing on second team. She hit .313 in conference and tied for fifth with 2️⃣1️⃣ RBIs #GeauxColonels pic.twitter.com/a2aU7D26wV

— Nicholls Softball (@Nicholls_SB) May 7, 2019

After being one of the league's top run producers in her first three seasons where she earned All-Southland three times, Gianelloni was moved into the leadoff spot this season and hit .315 in conference play to garner second-team honors. She ended up tied for first in Southland games with 23 runs scored and tied for sixth in hits. On the season, the Napoleonville native hit .297 with five homers and 18 RBIs. Gianelloni tied the Colonel program record with a 16-game hitting streak, which ended after she went 0-for-1 at Lamar with two walks and a sacrifice fly.

Shortstop Amanda Gianelloni made All- @SouthlandSports for the fourth time in her career after scoring 2️⃣3️⃣ runs in SLC play - tying for the league lead. She hit .315 in conference with a pair of homers #GeauxColonels pic.twitter.com/1HuGEALUvC

— Nicholls Softball (@Nicholls_SB) May 7, 2019

In her first full season as the primary starter at first base, Dares ranked second in conference play with 25 RBIs, while finishing fifth in triples, and ninth in batting average (.360). In 27 Southland games, she recorded three homers, two triples and a double. The Baton Rouge native finished the regular season with a .327 batting average and a team-best 11 multi-hit games.

Samantha Dares named @SouthlandSports Third Team after ranking second in conference play with 2️⃣5️⃣ RBIs and ninth in batting at .360 #GeauxColonels pic.twitter.com/BJCsMrp94P

— Nicholls Softball (@Nicholls_SB) May 7, 2019

Garcia started at third base after transferring from Louisiana-Lafayette, batting .288 with two home runs and eight RBIs in league play. She was outstanding defensively, recording just three errors at third base in 27 contests. On the year, the Spring, Texas native totaled five home runs and drove in 15.

In her first season with the Red and Gray, Caitlin Garcia is selected to the @SouthlandSports Third Team after locking down third base. She hit .288 in conference with 6️⃣ doubles, a triple and two homers.  #GeauxColonels pic.twitter.com/wL0thdHxTe

— Nicholls Softball (@Nicholls_SB) May 7, 2019

ON DECK
Nicholls will make its fourth consecutive appearance in the Southland Conference Tournament, starting play at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday in Natchitoches, Louisiana. The Colonels earned the No. 2 seed for the third time in four years after taking the top seed last year. Their first game will be against either No. 3 McNeese, No. 6 Northwestern State or No. 7 Lamar, depending on Tuesday's results.

2019 All-Southland Conference Softball Teams
 
Individual Awards
Player of the Year: Lindsey McLeod, Sam Houston State
Hitter of the Year: Margarita Corona, Stephen F. Austin
Pitcher of the Year: Lindsey McLeod, Sam Houston State
Freshman of the Year: Kassidy Wilbur, Stephen F. Austin
Newcomer of the Year: Jade Lewis, Lamar
Coach of the Year: Garrett Valis, Sam Houston State
 

First Team
Pos.	Name	University	Class	Hometown
1B	Margarita Corona	Stephen F. Austin	Sr.	Tucson, Ariz.
2B	Libby Morris2	Central Arkansas	Sr.	Grove, Okla.
3B	Mima Doucet	Southeastern Louisiana	Jr.	Lafayette, La.
SS	Tiffany Thompson2	Sam Houston State	Jr.	Montgomery, Texas
C	Kali Clement2	Nicholls	Sr.	Thibodaux, La.
UT	E.C. Delafield	Northwestern State	So.	Stonewall, La.
DP	Jade Lewis	Lamar	Jr.	Mont Belvieu, Texas
OF	Justyce McClain4	McNeese	Sr.	Phoenix, Ariz.
OF	Megan McDonald	Sam Houston State	Jr.	Georgetown, Texas
OF	Madisen Blackford	Southeastern Louisiana	So.	Des Moines, Iowa
P	Lindsey McLeod2	Sam Houston State	Sr.	Austin, Texas
P	Megan Landry3	Nicholls	Sr.	Pierre Part, La.
Second Team
1B	Kaylyn Shepherd2	Central Arkansas	Jr.	Mechanicsville, Va.
2B	Cayla Jones2	Northwestern State	So.	Missouri City, Texas
3B	Cylla Hill	Central Arkansas	Jr.	Henryetta, Okla.
SS	Amanda Gianelloni4	Nicholls	Sr.	Napoleonville, La.
C	Ella Manzer	Southeastern Louisiana	So.	Alexandria, La.
UT	Morgan Felts2	Central Arkansas	Sr.	Conway, Ark.
DP	Taylar Fuselier	Sam Houston State	R-Jr.	Magnolia, Texas
OF	Kasey Frederick3	Nicholls	Sr.	Bridge City, Texas
OF	Kayla Crutchmer	Central Arkansas	Jr.	Tulsa, Okla.
OF	Shannon Klaus	Lamar	Jr.	Cedar Creek, Texas
P	Kassidy Wilbur	Stephen F. Austin	Fr.	Bridge City, Texas
P	Alley McDonald	Southeastern Louisiana	Jr.	Whitehouse, Tenn.
P	Alexsandra Flores	McNeese	Jr.	Lufkin, Texas
Third Team
1B	Samantha Dares	Nicholls	Jr.	Metairie, La.
2B	Bryana Novegil	Stephen F. Austin	So.	Houston, Texas
2B	Brooke Malia	Sam Houston State	So.	Houston, Texas
3B	Caitlin Garcia	Nicholls	So.	Spring, Texas
SS	Cori McCrary	McNeese	R-Jr.	McCarley, Miss.
C	Aubree Turbeville	McNeese	Sr.	Mesquite, Texas
UT	Sammi Thomas	Texas A&M-Corpus Christi	Fr.	Buford, Ga.
DP	Samantha Bradley	Abilene Christian	So.	Azle, Texas
OF	Kaylee Lopez	McNeese	Fr.	Indian Bayou, La.
OF	Elise Vincent	Northwestern State	Jr.	Maurice, La.
OF	Linsey Tomlinson	Abilene Christian	Jr.	Huffman, Texas
P	Ashley Kriesel	Stephen F. Austin	Jr.	Houston, Texas

 
² Two-time all-conference selection
³ Three-time all-conference selection
⁴ Four-time all-conference selection
               
Honorable Mention – Catcher: Shaina Amir, Lamar. First Base: Rebecca Skains, Southeastern Louisiana. Second Base: Jaquelyn Ramon, Southeastern Louisiana. Third Base: Kyndal Kutac, Sam Houston State. Shortstop: Demi Janak, Houston Baptist; Lindsey Rizzo, Southeastern Louisiana. Outfield: Blair Clayton, Abilene Christian; Sheridan Fisher, Sam Houston State; Toni Perrin, McNeese. Pitcher: Saleen Flores, McNeese; Rio Sanchez, Central Arkansas.