Softball | 5/9/2017 8:30:00 PM

TROY, Ala. - Emily Snider leads a trio of Georgia Southern players named to the 2017 All-Sun Belt Softball Team, announced Tuesday evening by the conference at the pre-tournament banquet. Snider earned a spot on the first team while teammates Dixie Raley and freshman Mekhia Freeman were both voted to the second team.

A year after making the second team, Snider vaulted to the first team with a smashing senior season. After hitting 15 home runs in her first three seasons combined, she has hit 16 home runs and counting this year. The Tennille, Georgia, native currently leads all regular GS players with a .390 batting average, 16 home runs and 44 RBIs. Her 16 round-trippers are the second most in program history as she passed Kourtny Thomas (2014), Marie Fogle (2011) and Jenny Side (2008) with three home runs against Savannah State on April 26. The school record for home runs in a season is 18, set by Megan Smith in 2010.

Raley and Freeman were both voted to the second team. For Raley, it's her second all-conference nod in as many seasons as she made the first team last year as a freshman. This season, the Milledgeville, Georgia, native has 13 wins in the circle with 145 strikeouts in 168.0 innings pitched.

After bouncing in and out of the lineup early on, Freeman found a home and became a staple in right field for the Eagles, starting 39 games there. A spark as the leadoff batter, the Senoia, Georgia, native enters the Sun Belt Tournament hitting .325 with a team-leading 11 doubles, four home runs and 25 RBIs.

The Georgia Southern softball team opens the 2017 Sun Belt Tournament Wednesday at the Troy Softball Complex. The Eagles, the No. 6 seed, will take on seventh-seeded ULM in a play-in game at 1:30 p.m. (ET) for the right to enter the double-elimination tournament.The winner of the GS/ULM game will take on third-seeded Georgia State later in the day at 6:30 p.m. in the main draw. The loser's season will be over. 

The game is available to watch online through ESPN3.

Below is the full list of honorees:

First Team All-Sun Belt
Devin Brown (South Alabama, Junior, P, Graphic Design)
Alyssa Denham (Louisiana, Freshman, P, Kinesiology)
Randi Rupp (Texas State, Junior, P, Management)
Alex Stewart (Louisiana, Senior, P, Mathematics/Finance)
Ivie Drake (Georgia State, Junior, C, Early Childhood Education)
Haley Hayden (Louisiana, Senior, 1B, Exercise Science)
Kaleigh Todd (South Alabama, Junior, 2B, Education)
Becca Hartley (Troy, Senior, SS, Accounting)
Ariel Ortiz (Texas State, Junior, SS, Management)
DJ Sanders (Louisiana, Junior, SS, Exercise Science)
Kara Gremillion (Louisiana, Sophomore, 3B, Exercise Science)
Aleah Craighton (Louisiana, Junior, OF, Biology/Pre-Med)
Taty Forbes (Coastal Carolina, Sophomore, OF)
Megan Litumbe (Georgia State, RS Junior, OF, Human Learning and Development)
Emily Snider (Georgia Southern, Senior, OF, Accounting)
 
Second Team All-Sun Belt
Sam Clakley (UTA, Sophomore, P, Kinesiology)
Kinsley Jennings (Georgia State, Junior, P)
Dixie Raley (Georgia Southern, Sophomore, P, Public Relations)
Destin Vicknair (South Alabama, Senior, P, Interdisciplinary Studies)
Lexie Comeaux (Louisiana, Sophomore, C, General Studies)
Aileen Garcia (UTA, Freshman, 1B, Mechanical Engineering)
Sandra Mendoza (UTA, Junior, 2B, Kinesiology)
Kassidy Zeringue (Louisana, Senior, 2B, Exercise Science)
Kristian Foster (South Alabama, Junior, SS, Exercise Science)
Kensey Caldwell (Georgia State, Senior, 3B, Human Learning and Development)
Morgan Brown (Georgia State, Senior, OF, Marketing)
Mekhia Freeman (Georgia Southern, Freshman, OF, Human Resource Management)
Sydney McKay (ULM, Sophomore, OF, Accounting)
Amanda Minahan (South Alabama, Senior, OF, Exercise Science)
Krista Rude (UTA, Sophomore, OF, Education)
 
Player of the Year
DJ Sanders (Louisiana, Junior, SS, Exercise Science)
 
Pitcher of the Year
Randi Rupp (Texas State, Junior, Management)
 
Freshman of the Year
Alyssa Denham (Louisiana, P, Kinesiology)
 
Newcomer of the Year
Kinsley Jennings (Georgia State, Junior, P)

Coach of the Year
Michael Lotief (Louisiana)