Tucker hits preseason All-Conference designation
Published 10:25 am Friday, January 26, 2024
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The following is from Presbyterian College:
Senior second baseman Kaitlyn Tucker of the Presbyterian College softball team was listed as a member of the inaugural preseason All-Big South roster on Wednesday afternoon, announced by league officials as part of a new preseason awards rollout.
One of 15 players around the conference to be selected for All-League status (and one of just four infielders), Tucker takes over as PC’s most consistent offensive threat for a program that enters year six of the David Williams head coaching era.
Tucker will approach the 2023 campaign as Presbyterian’s all-time Division I leader in on-base percentage (.433) while ranking fourth in both batting average (.311) and total walks (69).
A native of Oakboro, Tucker has been penciled in as a starter in all 127 games over her PC career. Batting primarily in the number 2 spot, she logged a .395 OBP with 23 walks last season (both figures that led the team).
Additionally, Tucker’s ’23 stint included a .281 BA, 36 hits, five doubles and eight stolen bases (placing second on the club in each of those categories) while connecting on 13 hits over the final 20 games of the semester.
Over the nonconference portion of last spring’s schedule, Tucker embarked on a personal-best 14-game streak of reaching base at least once, turning that into a six-game hitting streak once Big South competition arrived.
She ranked third in the order with 18 runs scored, adding a .951 fielding percentage to her defensive repertoire next to 73 putouts and 43 assists.
Tucker batted .342 over the month of March as a junior, finding home plate three times in the same affair twice while going for three hits against three separate opponents.
She was also named to the Big South’s All-Academic team by way of a .388 Biology grade-point average. That led to a selection on the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District lineup later in May.
Presbyterian authored a sizzling start to 2023 by reaching a perfect 12-0 mark after two weeks, the second-longest winning streak in the university’s history. PC stood as one of four undefeated programs in the country at the time they took their first loss, eventually claiming 17 victories in Clinton and 25 overall.