By: Ryan Henry
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DALLAS – Catcher
Macie Howes and outfielder
Ana Gore were named to the Conference USA All-Academic Team, announced by the conference office Friday afternoon.
It's the second-straight season Howes has received a CUSA postseason distinction, earning second-team all-conference honors last year. For Gore, this is her first postseason accolade. The Owls joins Jax State, LA Tech and Liberty as the only schools with multiple CUSA All-Academic recipients.
Howes has experienced one of the best seasons for a KSU softball player in the DI era. She had a 19-game on-base streak from Feb. 28-April 3, which is second-longest streak among CUSA players and 11th-longest among all mid-major players this season.
She also became the first Owl since 2021 to homer in three-straight games, doing so on two occasions. When she gunned out a potential base stealer on April 30, she became the all-time record holder for most runners caught stealing at 36.
The senior is currently top 10 in CUSA in runners caught stealing (13), total bases (97), batting average (.380), slugging percentage (.683), OPS (1.134) and extra-base hits (22).
Gore built off a stellar freshman season, batting .307 with 47 hits. In KSU's historic win over Furman, she set a new program record with two sac flies. She's done it against the top teams as well, recording two RBI against the best pitching staff in the country in No. 10 Tennessee (April 8) and tallying three hits versus No. 13 Georgia (April 15).
She elevated her performance in conference play, posting a triple slash line of .342/.372/.582. Gore hit back-to-back homers with 4 RBI against Sam Houston (March 21). She's also one of five qualified players in CUSA with a 1.000 fielding percentage.
The Champions Fund
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