EAST PEORIA, Ill.  – Members of the No. 1 University of Indianapolis softball team, as well as the University of Missouri-St. Louis, along with Truman State University and Bellarmine University have garnered the Great Lakes Valley Conference’s major postseason awards, it was announced by the league office Thursday evening at the 2014 GLVC Softball Championship Tournament Awards Reception.  Bellarmine sophomore ally Foster was named by the conference coaches as the league’s Player of the Year and Missouri-St. Louis Alex Stupex was tabbed as Freshman of the Year.  Missouri-St. Louis’ Hannah Perryman and Truman State’s Kindra Henze garnered the Co-Pitchers of the Year award.  Indianapolis mentor Melissa Frost was honored by her peers for Coach of the Year, while a total of 53 student-athletes from both the GLVC East and West Divisions earned All-Conference accolades.

In 48 games this season, the Bellarmine sophomore tops the conference with a .397 batting average, while pacing the league in slugging percentage (.747), and on base percentage (.508).  She is also second  in the GLVC in total bases (109), and tied for second in runs scored (39) and doubles (15), and tied for third in home runs (12).  At the national level, the Indianapolis, Ind., native’s four saves and 9.3 strikeouts per seven innings  rank 14th and 18th, respectively.  Foster’s honor marks the second time a Knight has earned Player of the Year, she Kara Houston (2033) as Bellarmine honoree.
 
Perryman and Henze are the first to ever earn GLVC Co-Pitchers of the Year since the awards inception in 2005.  For the third time, Perryman join SIU Edwardsville’s Kaitlin Colosimo (2007 and 2008) and Quincy’s Torie Bunzell (2010 and 2011) to have won the award back-to-back.  Perryman is the second Triton to be recognized as the conference’s top pitcher as Allyson DeFosset was tabbed in 2009.  A native of Streamwood, Ill., Perryman captured four of the 11 GLVC Pitcher of the Week accolades awarded this year and finished the regular season by becoming the program's all-time strikeout leader and also tied an NCAA Division II seven-inning single game record with 20 strikeouts  in the Tritons sweep against Drury (April 5).  During the season, Perryman tossed 163.1 innings and registered 322 strikeouts. That total currently ranks second nationally, while her average of 13.7 strikeouts per seven innings is tops among all NCAA Division II pitchers.  In addition, the 22-5 hurler rates fourth in the country with 3.54 hits allowed per seven innings, 15th in earned run average (1.16), and 16th with 21 victories.
 
Henze a sophomore from Palmyra, Mo., is the second Bulldog to earn a league top honor.  Truman State’s  Mike Carlson was named the GLVC's co-Player of the Year this season (March 4, 2014).  Carlson and Henze are the first Truman State student-athletes to earn conference Player of the Year accolades.  In 25 games this season, Henze tops the league with a 0.65 ERA, 3rd in wins (21), 5th in opposing batting average (.183) and struck outs (167), 8th in innings pitched (162) and batters struck out looking (27).  She also leads the nation in shutouts (13).  The four-time GLVC Player of the Week hurler, was named the NFCA Player of the Week (March18, 2014).
 
For the first time in Missouri-St. Louis program history, a Triton has earned the league’s Freshman of the Year.  Stupek took the conference’s top newcomer honor after an impressive rookie season at short stop.  The Oreana, Ill., native was tops among the GLVC's freshmen in most offensive statistical categories, including a batting average of .394, scattering 61 hits, 38 RBIs, 38 runs scored, 10 homeruns, and eight doubles.  Stupex also was solid defensively, committing just nine errors in 47 game starts this season.  She also lead the Tritons with 18 multi-hit games, including eight with three hits, and two grand slams against Southeast Missouri State (March 15) and Southern Indiana (April 19).
 
Frost, who earns her third consecutive Coach of the Year award and third overall, led the Greyhounds to a 39-9 overall record and 28-4 mark in conference play.  UIndy, the outright GLVC East Division Champions and the top-seed in the 2014 GLVC Softball Championship Tournament, boasted a total of eight All-GLVC East Division first-team honorees.   Under her watch, Frost guided five Freshmen of the Year including Lauren Booten (2006), Megan Russell (2007), Cori Eckerel (2011) and Morgan Foley (2013), four GLVC Player of the Year - Megan Russell (2009 and 2010) and Casey Williamson (2012 and 2013), and two Pitcher of the Year - Beth Wendlinger (2006) and Jennifer DeMotte (2012).  Outside of Frost-Fisher’s four GLVC Coach of the Year honors, only one other Greyhound mentor has been recognized as the league’s top coach–Frost's current boss, Dr. Sue Willey, back in 1989.

The 14-member West Division first-team squad was increased by one due to ties.  

Including both first- and second-team selections, Indianapolis, Missouri-St. Louis, and Truman State garnered a league-best eight selections apiece, while Bellarmine followed with six and Southern Indiana boasted four.

A complete list of the 2014 GLVC All-Conference honorees follows:


          Player of the Year: Ally Foster, So., UT, Bellarmine
Co-Pitchers of the Year: Hannah Perryman, So., P, Missouri-St. Louis
                                            Kindra Henze, So., P, Truman State
   Freshman of the Year:   Alex Stupek, Fr., SS, Missouri-St. Louis
         Coach of the Year:   Melissa Frost, Indianapolis