Four Patriots selected to All-PBC Softball Team

FLORENCE, S.C. – Four members of the Francis Marion University softball team were recently named to the 2009 Peach Belt Conference All-Conference Team.

Senior designated player and utility player Laura Hauff was named to the first team, while junior left-handed pitcher Michaela Wolf, junior left fielder Jessica Birchmeier, and freshman right-handed pitcher Lauren Bubeck were selected to the second team. This is the second straight season Wolf and Birchmeier have earned All-PBC recognition.

The group has helped Francis Marion to a 32-19 record. The Patriots are awaiting the announcement of this week’s NCAA Division II National Tournament field to see if they will receive an at-large invitation.

Hauff, a native of Columbia, is batting .333 with seven runs batted in and a .353 on-base percentage.

Wolf, a native of Littleton, Colo., owns a 20-11 pitching record and a 1.58 earned run average. She has completed 25 of her 29 starts and struck out 172 batters in 204.1 innings of work. She is the only Patriot hurler in the history of the program to win 20 games more than once in a career -- after winning 29 games last year and 21 games as a freshman. She has walked only 35 batters and opponents are hitting just .224 against her.

At the plate, Wolf is hitting .323 with five doubles, four home runs, and 27 runs batted in – the second highest total on the squad.

Birchmeier, a native of Port Richey, Fla., is batting .324 with 23 runs scored, 10 doubles, one home run, and 20 RBIs. She is first among the Patriot regulars with a .415 on-base percentage and 13 multi-hit games.

Bubeck, a native of Tequesta, Fla., has a 9-7 pitching mark with a 2.19 ERA. She has appeared in 22 games, with 10 complete games, two shutouts, and 45 strikeouts against only 18 walks in 108.2 innings.

Hauff was a first-team All-Region performer and five-year letterwinner at Spring Valley High School, while Wolf is a former two-time All-Conference performer at Columbine High School. Birchmeier was the Suncoast Athletic Conference Player of the Year as a senior at Ridgewood High School, while Bubeck was a four-time All-Conference pick at South Fork High School.
This marks the second straight year, FMU has placed four members on the All-PBC Team.