By Chris Megginson, assistant sports editor
Former Hewitt-Trussville High School and Birmingham Thunderbolts softball player Bailey Murphy has been named the Southern Athletic Association Newcomer of the Year.
Murphy, a junior transfer from the University of South Alabama, was a top contributor in her first season for the SAA regular season champion Birmingham-Southern College. She finished the regular season third in the SAA in doubles (12), fourth in RBI (39), fifth in total bases (78), and 12th in batting average (.377).
This past week she helped top-seed Birmingham-Southern sweep the SAA Tournament in Chattanooga, Tennessee, to win the SAA Tournament title and earn a bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament. Murphy hit 3-for-4 and had a two-run home run in the first inning of the championship game Sunday to put BSC in front, 2-0, in an 8-2 win over Rhodes College. The performance solidified her spot on the SAA All-Tournament Team.
Murphy also made nine appearances as a pitcher this season, including four starts. She has a 4-0 record and one save while posting a 0.84 earned run average through 34.1 innings pitched.
During her time at HTHS, Murphy hit. 430 as a senior with 13 home runs. She was also named First Team All-State by the Alabama Sportswriters Association.
In addition to Murphy, BSC also had Haley Crumpton named the SAA Pitcher of the Year and BSC Head Coach Kimball Cassady was named the SAA Coach of the Year.
The NCAA will announce its DIII tournament pairings on May 6.