Empire 8 Announces 2009 Softball All-Conference Team
May 5, 2009
ROCHESTER, NY – Senior pitcher Amanda Shevchuk of conference champion St. John Fisher College, who was named Empire 8 Softball Championship Most Valuable Player for the second year in a row, was honored as Pitcher of the Year as the Empire 8 announced its Softball All-Conference Team. Junior Karen Folts of Alfred University and sophomore Brittany Lillie of Ithaca College shared the Player of the Year award.
Shevchuk posted a 5-1 record in conference play during the regular season and then earned tournament MVP honors when she yielded just three earned runs in 32 innings and sealed the title for the Cardinals with an eight-inning shutout in the championship game against Ithaca. Overall, she is 16-6 with a 2.22 earned run average.
Folts was named first-team all-conference at second base this season after earning first-team honors at shortstop last year. She set an Empire 8 record with six home runs in 12 conference games, hitting .450 with 14 runs scored, 14 runs batted in, four doubles, and 1.000 slugging percentage. Overall, Folts is hitting .423 with 10 home runs and 37 RBI.
Lillie, a first-team all-conference selection as a utility player, set Empire 8 records by hitting .659 (27-for-41) and posting a 1.073 slugging percentage in conference play. She also tied an Empire 8 record with 20 runs scored in 12 games, while hitting seven doubles, two triples, two home runs, and driving in 18 runs. Overall, Lillie hit .410 with 33 runs scored and 32 RBI.
Senior third baseman Kristi Bradley of St. John Fisher was named to the all-conference first team for the second time in her career after hitting .438 with 15 RBI in 11 Empire 8 games. Bradley leads the NCAA-bound Cardinals with a .395 batting average. Sophomore outfielder Lauren O’Brien, who hit .364 in conference play, joined Bradley and Shevchuk on the all-conference first team.
Sophomore first baseman Courtney Noster and first-year outfielder Julie Van Meter joined Lillie on the all-conference first team for Ithaca. Noster batted .481 with 13 RBI in conference play, while Van Meter hit .412 with 11 runs scored and 13 RBI. Second baseman Annmarie Forenza, a second-team all-conference selection, was chosen as Empire 8 Rookie of the Year. She led the Empire 8 with 21 runs batted in during conference play and scored 16 runs, while batting .563.
Three Alfred players joined Folts on the all-conference first team, including junior Jessica Figallo, a second-team honoree last season. She batted .389 in conference play. Sophomore designated player Madison Snyder hit .371 to earn first-team honors. First-year pitcher Nicole Hedrick made the first team after posting a 0.71 earned run average in six conference appearances.
Sophomore shortstop Emily McPherson of Rochester Institute of Technology, the 2008 Rookie of the Year, was named to the all-conference first team. She hit .500 with four home runs, 12 runs scored, and 11 RBI in 12 conference games. Sophomore catcher Lisa Fronczak of the Tigers also garnered first-team honors after hitting .389 with six doubles and seven RBI in Empire 8 play.
Sophomore outfielder Kim Martin of Utica College joined Folts as the only repeat first-team selection after hitting .366 in conference play.
St. John Fisher Head Coach Len Maiorani was named Coach of the Year after leading the Cardinals to their second consecutive Empire 8 title.
One member of each team was named that institution’s representative on the 2009 Softball Sportswoman of the Year Team. Empire 8 emphasizes that "Competing with Honor and Integrity" is an essential component of a student-athlete’s experience in conjunction with an institution’s educational mission. These honorees have distinguished themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits as outstanding sportswomen.
2009 Empire 8 Softball Awards
Co-Player of the Year: Karen Folts, Alfred University
Co-Player of the Year: Brittanie Lillie, Ithaca College
Pitcher of the Year: Amanda Shevchuk, St. John Fisher College
Rookie of the Year: Annmarie Forenza, Ithaca College
Coach of the Year: Len Maiorani, St. John Fisher College