Hanson, Dewitt Earn All-Conference Honors

PROVO -- Coinciding with the first day of Mountain West Conference Softball Championship play, two BYU softball players were named to the All-Conference team Thursday as voted upon by the conference's coaches.

Pitcher Maryon Dewitt and first baseman Mindy Hanson, both juniors, were BYU's first All-Conference selections. Dewitt, a transfer from Ricks College, posted a 9-9 record and 2.84 ERA in her first season as a Cougar. Dewitt struck out 99 on the year, fourth in the conference, and set the conference's single-game high for strikeouts with 12 against Santa Clara Mar. 24. Dewitt threw four shutouts and 14 complete games this season, including the league's longest game of the year, a 12-inning BYU victory over Utah May 6.

Hanson, a native of Salt Lake City who played for two years at Utah Valley State College, finished the regular season with a .313 average and team-best 20 RBI. Hanson connected for 36 hits and scored 13 runs. Hanson began the first 27 games of the season with a .254 but rebounded to hit a scorching .500 at home and raise her batting average over 60 points in just under a month.

Hanson and Dewitt will lead the Cougars against UNLV in the second round of the double-elimination Mountain West Conference Championship tournament. BYU fell to Colorado State, 3-0, in the first round of play Thursday in Salt Lake. Friday's game against UNLV will begin at 11:30 a.m. at Ute Field on the University of Utah campus.