USC Aiken softball standouts Emily Ayers and Lakyn Phillips picked up all-Peach Belt Conference honors Thursday morning, as announced by the league office.
Ayers and Phillips both earned second-team accolades.
Ayers, a native of North Augusta, has been dominant this season at bat and behind the plate. She's batting a team-high .358 and sports a team-best OPS of 1.002. She leads the squad with 28 runs scored, 57 hits, 12 doubles, two triples, 97 total bases and a .610 slugging percentage. Ayers is also a perfect 4-for-4 in stolen bases. She has 15 multi-hit games, seven multi-RBI contests and six multi-run games for the year.
Defensively, she has thrown out 10 runners attempting to steal, has 301 putouts on the year and has 31 assists. Ayers ranks in the top 10 of the PBC for hits and doubles.
For her career, Ayers has re-written the USCA record books. She's third with 21 home runs, fourth with 100 RBI, tied for eighth with 250 total bases, ninth with 32 doubles and 10th with four sacrifice flies. Defensively, Ayers is fifth with 730 putouts and seventh with 833 chances.
Phillips, a native of Lexington, appeared in 35 games in 2023, including 26 starts. She's gone the distance in 15 games and has four shutouts. Phillips has 10 of the team's victories in 151⅔ innings of work. She has 134 strikeouts for the season.
This year, Phillips registered a season-high 13 strikeouts in a complete-game 11-inning victory over Young Harris. She also struck out 10 against Mars Hill and Benedict while sporting nine-strikeout games against Clarion, Claflin and Flagler.
Phillips ranks second in the PBC in batters striking out looking, third in innings pitched and overall strikeouts, and 10th in victories.
For her career, Phillips is third with three saves, seventh with 314 strikeouts and ninth with eight shutouts. She's also on the verge of entering numerous top-10 lists.
The duo returns to action Friday in the opening game of the PBC Tournament against North Georgia.
