JACKSON, Tenn. – In the bottom of the 10th inning of the deciding game, freshman Taylor Bassett of Birmingham-Southern College hit a walk off two-run homerun to give the Panthers its first-ever SCAC Softball Championship, 3-1. Bassett’s performance helped earn BSC the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference’s automatic bid into the NCAA Championships in the Panthers first-ever appearance at the SCAC Tournament.

For her efforts, Bassett was named to the 2012 SCAC all-tournament squad – one of five Panthers to be named to the team. The first-year shortstop was at her best when it counted, hitting .333 (2-for-6) with two RBIs and a run scored while fielding her position perfectly with three assists and eight putouts in the two championship elimination games.

Bassett was joined by four other teammates on the all-tournament squad – Ashley Bice, Brittany Berkopec, Ronni Ferris and Bethany Fronk. Bice hit .389 on the weekend as the senior outfielder went 7-for-18 at the plate with five runs scored, three RBIs, one homerun and 12 total bases. She slugged .667 and notched an on-base percentage of .421.

Karen MacPhearson, a senior outfielder from Trinity University, became the first-ever four time all-tournament team member. MacPhearson hit .438 at the plate, going 7-for-16 on the weekend while scoring three runs, driving in another and setting a new SCAC Tournament record with five stolen bases. In the history of the SCAC, 10 student-athletes have been named to the all-tournament team three times but MacPhearson is the first-ever four-time honoree.

MacPhearson was joined by teammates Chrissy Armstrong, Caitlynn Dykes and Lauren Mercado as members of the 2012 SCAC all-tournament squad.

Southwestern University first baseman Haley Hughes was named to her second all-tournament team after setting a new conference tournament record with three homeruns in a single tournament. Hughes hit .389 on the weekend going 7-for-18 at the plate with six RBIs, four runs scored, three homeruns and 16 total bases as she slugged .889. Hughes was joined by teammate Taylor Turpin, who earned her second straight all-tournament selection.

Birmingham-Southern led the way with five selections to the 2012 SCAC All-Tournament Team while Trinity had four honorees and Southwestern had two. Rhodes College’s Jessica Brown was the lone selection for the Lynx.

To view the entire 2012 SCAC All-Tournament Team, click here.