Outfielder Emily Crane headlines all-SEC honors for MU softball

Missouri junior outfielder Emily Crane was chosen Tuesday as first-team All-Southeastern Conference after a regular season that saw her post a .465 on-base percentage.

Crane, who also was picked for the SEC all-defensive team, batted .366 with 52 runs scored and 25 RBIs. She also tied for sixth in the conference with 25 steals.

Two other players for the Tigers, who finished seventh in the SEC during the regular season, were selected for the second team: pitcher Tori Finucane and infielder Sami Fagan.

Fagan finished the regular season batting a team-best .389 with 11 home runs and 61 RBIs, which ranked sixth in the SEC.

Finucane, who was the 2014 SEC freshman of the year, followed up her sterling debut with another strong campaign, going 18-8 with a 3.14 ERA and 127 strikeouts in 131.2 innings.

Meanwhile, freshman pitcher Paige Lowary and infielder Amanda Sanchez earned a spot on the Freshman All-SEC team.

Lowary went 18-4 with a 3.10 ERA and 156 strikeouts in 146.2 innings, while Sanchez smashed a team-high 14 home runs and also batted .327 with 52 RBIs.

Seventh-seeded Missouri opens the SEC Tournament at 11 a.m. Wednesday against 10th-seeded Mississippi State at Tiger Park in Baton Rouge, La. The game will air on the SEC Network.

Florida junior second baseman Kelsey Stewart, a Wichita native and graduate of Maize High, was chosen as the SEC player of the year.

Stewart, who also was a first-team selection as an infielder and picked for the all-defensive team, leads the Gators with a .452 average, 16 doubles, eight triples and 22 stolen bases. She also has 35 RBIs.

Georgia infielder Alex Hugo, a former Olathe South star, also repeated as a first-team selection. She batted .403 with 19 home runs and 66 RBIs during the regular season.

This story was originally published May 5, 2015 at 11:31 AM with the headline "Outfielder Emily Crane headlines all-SEC honors for MU softball."