June 4, 2013
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Former University of Kentucky softball stars Meagan Aull, Rachel Riley and Brooke Marnitz, who each rank top 10 in numerous career records, have recently been named into Kentucky state hall of fames for their high school softball accomplishments.
Aull was a member of the Kentucky Softball Coaches Association Hall of Fame Class of 2012, while Riley is a KSCA Hall of Fame Class of 2013 member and will be inducted later this summer. Marnitz received high honors earlier this week as she was named one of 11 members to the Dawahares/Kentucky High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame Class of 2014.
Aull and Riley are the only two players during sixth-year head coach Rachel Lawson’s tenure to be inducted into the KSCA Hall of Fame, while Marnitz is the only other four-year UK player to be inducted into the KSCA Hall of Fame. Marnitz was a member of the 2008 class.
Aull had a great career at Owensboro Catholic High School, earning Kentucky Miss Softball honors in 2007 on top of countless other awards, including All-America honorable mention honors and first-team All-State honors. During her time at Kentucky, Aull earned Southeastern Conference honors and National Fastpitch Coaches Association honors, while also being named the 2011 SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year and 2011 Capital One Academic All-American. A four-year letterwinner from 2008-11, Aull ended her career with 220 consecutive starts in centerfield, including a game-tying solo homer in the bottom of the seventh to ignite a come-from-behind win that propelled UK into NCAA Super Regionals for the first time in school history. Aull ended her UK career with 71 stolen bases, which ranks second most ever in school history, while 26 stolen bases in 2009 is third most in a single season in school history.
Riley helped Greenwood High School to back-to-back state championships her junior and senior seasons, posting over 45 wins in the circle during those title runs. The native of Bowling Green, Ky., was named Most Valuable Player of the KHSAA State Tournament twice during her six-year letterwinner campaign, while she holds school records in singles, doubles, walks, sacrifice hits, batting average, assists, fielding percentage and strikeouts. Riley also had a prolific collegiate career with Kentucky, earning NFCA All-Region honors. Riley, who played from 2009-12, ended her UK playing career ranked fifth in appearances, fourth in innings pitched, seventh in games started, third in ERA, fourth in opponent batting average, fourth in strikeouts, third in wins and tied for third in saves. The best game of Riley’s career came against WKU, where she threw the second ever perfect game in school history and had six RBI at the plate – which tied the most in school history.
A Lexington native, Marnitz is one of the best offensive players to every play for the UK program, sitting top 10 all-time in many career honors. At the conclusion of her career in 2007, Marnitz ranked fourth in career batting average at .320, sixth in doubles with 30, second in career walks with 77, fifth in runs scored with 106, first in home runs with 31, first in slugging percentage at .575, fifth in total bases with 305 and fourth in assists with 364. Marnitz’s 2007 season is still one of the best ever as she hit .399 with 21 home runs, 61 RBI, 42 runs scored, a .895 slugging percentage and 137 total bases. Her home run, RBI, slugging percentage and total bases totals from 2007 still rank first on UK’s single-season list. Marnitz was a NFCA All-Region and an All-SEC honoree in 2007. In high school, Marnitz was a standout at Paul Laurence Dunbar, being named Miss Softball in 2003 on top of a two-time Regional Player of the Year.
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