Indianapolis, Ind --
Youngstown State senior Haley Thomas (Simi Valley, Calif.) was named the 2012 Horizon League Softball Player of the Year and Head Coach Brian Campbell was tabbed the 2012 Horizon League Coach of the Year in a vote by the league's head coaches, the league announced on Tuesday (May
.
Senior
Jordan Ingalls (Bolivar, N.Y.) was named All-Horizon League First-Team along with Thomas, and junior
Vicky Rumph (Mount Forest, Ontario) was selected All-Horizon League Second-Team.
Freshman
Kayla Haslett (Baden, Pa.) was named to the Horizon League All-Newcomer Team.
Campbell, who is in his fourth season at Youngstown State, guided the Penguins to their most overall wins since 2004 with 28 victories. He led the Penguins to a seven-win improvement in Horizon League play with a record of 12-10, and YSU's fourth-place finish was four spots higher than the league's coaches predicted in the preseason. Last season, the Guins placed eighth with a 5-16 Horizon League record.
Thomas, who set the YSU single-season hits record with 70, is the first YSU player to win the player-of-the-year award since Amanda Berry in 2003. Overall, she led the Horizon League with a .440 batting average, 70 hits and 17 doubles; was second in on-base percentage (.497) and steals (14) and ranked third in slugging percentage (.717) and total bases (117). In league play, Thomas led the circuit with 35 hits and 53 total bases. She was third with a .443 batting average and a .671 slugging percentage.
Ingalls is just the third YSU player to be named All-Horizon League First-Team in consecutive years (2011 and 2012). The other two players were McKenzie Bedra (2007 and 2008) and Tiffany Patteson (2003 and 2004). Against league opponents, Ingalls ranked second in the conference with a .458 batting average and 33 hits. Her .639 slugging percentage was fifth in the league and her .488 on-base percentage was seventh. Overall, she ranked third in the league with a .409 batting average and second with 67 hits. Her 34 RBIs were eighth-best in the league and her .530 slugging percantage was tied for 10th.
Rumph, who was a 2010 Horizon League All-Newcomer Team pick, batted .351 overall and .319 in Horizon League play. She carried a .536 slugging percentage against league foes and belted three of her four home runs in conference play. Overall, she ranked seventh with 35 RBIs and tied for 10th with a .530 slugging percentage.
Haslett is the first YSU pitcher to be named to the Horizon League All-Newcomer Team since Karlie Burnell in 2004. She went 7-7 overall with a 3.47 earned-run average and 31 strikeouts. She picked up four wins in Horizon League play with a shutout and 18 strikeouts.
The fourth-seeded Penguins take on fifth-seeded Butler in the first round of the 2012 Horizon League Tournament, Wednesday, May 9, at Noon in Valparaiso, Ind.
