INDIANA, Pa. – Softball infielder Renee Wall has been named the 2017-18 IUP Women's Freshman of the Year, announced Friday, June 8 by the IUP Athletic Department.
 
The award is part of the Crimson & Gray Awards, which recognize the top athletes, coaches, teams and performances of the IUP Athletics season. The Awards are in their second year of existence.
 
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Wall proved to be one of the top players in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) in her first collegiate season, earning National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Atlantic Region honors as IUP's third baseman and cleanup hitter.
 
Wall led the Crimson Hawks with a .370 batting average, 13 doubles, 22 walks, and a .492 on-base percentage. She finished second on the team with 37 base hits, two home runs, 27 runs batted in, and a .560 slugging percentage. Wall had nine multi-hit and seven multi-RBI games, a reached base streak of 14 games, and struck out just eight times in 100 at-bats.
 
In addition to earning all-region honors, Wall was named the PSAC Central Freshman of the Year and first team selection on the all-division team.
 
About the Freshman of the Year Award
The IUP Freshman of the Year Award is given each year to a true freshman or redshirt freshman men's and women's student-athlete, who put together the best all-around season for a first-year college player. The Freshman of the Year Award unofficially began in 2016 with fan voting, and became official with the creation of the Crimson & Gray Awards in 2017.
 
About the Crimson & Gray Awards
The Crimson & Gray Awards are in their second year of existence and consist of 18 total categories - nine women, nine men - with top performers and performances from the 2017-18 year eligible.
 
Continuing from their inaugural year, awards include: Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Coach of the Year, Performance of the Year, Freshman of the Year, Breakthrough Athlete of the Year, Postseason Performer of the Year, Senior of the Year, Team of the Year and Athlete of the Year.

The IUP Sports Information Office collected award nominations from its coaches, with those nominees voted on by a select panel to narrow each category down to three finalists. That panel votes again to determine the winners.
 
Up next
The 2017-18 IUP Men's and Women's Breakthrough Athletes of the Year will be announced Monday.
 
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For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP Athletics on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk.