EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (Blugolds.com) - UW-Eau Claire softball head coach Leslie Huntington recently honored six Blugolds with team awards for their efforts in the 2011 season.

Sara Baumgartner earned the Most Valuable award. Baumgartner totaled a .399 average and started all 45 games for the Blugolds. Baumgartner also scored a team-high 39 runs and landed a spot on the All-Conference first team roster.

Jess Freagon received the Big Stick award and Emily Haluska was honored with the Golden Glove award. Freagon set a Blugold record for accumulating 53 RBIs in a single season. She also led the team with eight homeruns and ended the year with a batting average of .404.

Haluska also earned the Golden Glove award last year. In 2011, she recorded 39 putouts, 74 assists and finished the season with a .926 fielding percentage. Haluska also made the NFCA All-Region second team.

The team's Rookie of the Year honors went to Emma Wishau while Jenny Hess picked up the Most Improved award. Wishau pitched in 90.2 innings, the highest of the Blugold pitchers. She tallied 61 strikeouts and closed the year with an 8-7 record.

Hess started all 41 games she played and racked up nine RBIs and 25 runs for the Blugolds in 2011. Last season, Hess played as a sub in 31 games, scoring 19 runs.

Samantha Weix won the Skeet Award for the second consecutive year. The Skeet Award is named after former Blugold Mandy Freidel – nicknamed "Skeet" - who always encouraged her teammates and played with passion. This season, Weix played in 16 games and started in two.

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