ROCHESTER, NY – Two sophomores received the top honors as the Empire 8 announced its Softball All-Conference Team. Nicole Hedrick of Alfred University was named Player of the Year and Kelly Kocher of Nazareth College was selected as Pitcher of the Year.
Hedrick, a repeat first-team all-conference selection, leads the NCAA-bound Saxons in batting average (.445), runs (43), hits (61), home runs (9), slugging percentage (.759), and stolen bases (22), while adding 12 doubles and 30 runs batted in. On the mound, Hedrick has posted a 17-3 mark with a 1.47 earned run average and 104 strikeouts. In conference play, she hit .367 with 11 runs scored, three home runs, and 13 RBI while finishing 6-1 with a 1.86 earned run average.
Kocher recorded a 13-7 mark with a 1.12 earned run average, while leading all NCAA Division III pitchers in strikeouts per seven innings. She fanned 277 batters in 137.1 innings. In Empire 8 conference play, she finished 5-3 with a 1.04 earned run average, eight complete games, five shutouts, and 101 strikeouts in 53.2 innings.
Sophomore outfielder Angela Netta and junior pitcher Chelsey Cary of Alfred were also named to the first team, while first-year catcher Emily Fenton was selected as Rookie of the Year. Netta enters NCAA play with a .415 batting average with 25 runs scored and 20 RBI. He hit .395 with eight runs scored in conference play. Cary went 7-0 in conference regular season play with a 0.56 earned run average. Fenton is hitting .373 with 22 runs scored and 28 RBI. She hit .463 in Empire 8 play with 14 RBI.
Five players from Empire 8 champion Ithaca College were named to the all-conference first team, including repeat selection Brittany Lillie, who earned the honor after hitting .292 in conference play with 12 runs scored, two home runs, and 11 RBI. Overall, she leads the squad with six home runs and 32 RBI. Juniors Kerry Barger (catcher), Kait Dolan (second base), and Allison Greaney (utility), and first-year third baseman Molly O’Donnell also gained first-team recognition.
Barger leads the Bombers in hitting (.381) entering NCAA play and hit .426 with nine runs scored, three home runs, and 15 RBI in Empire 8 play. Dolan posted the highest batting average in the Empire 8 Softball Championship after hitting .432 with 15 runs scored and eight RBI in conference play. She is hitting .375 overall with 31 runs scored. Greaney hit .424 in Empire 8 play with nine runs scored, two home runs, and 10 RBI. She also posted a 4-0 mark on the mound with a 0.26 earned run average. O’Donnell shares the team lead with six home runs, five in conference play where she hit .366 with nine runs scored and 14 RBI.
Junior outfielder Kim Martin of Utica College was named to the all-conference first team for the third consecutive time and was joined on the team by first-year catcher Bridgette Plummer. Martin hit .411 with 37 runs scored overall, hitting .392 in Empire 8 with 11 runs scored and eight RBI. Plummer hit .368 with six home runs and 40 RBI overall after batting .349 with 12 runs scored, four home runs, and 16 RBI in conference play.
Sophomore outfielder Jennifer Vanek of St. John Fisher College earned first-team accolades after hitting .391 with seven runs scored in conference play. Overall, she leads the team with a .364 average.
Senior shortstop Lauryn DePaul of Elmira College garnered first-team recognition. She leads the Soaring Eagles with a .456 average, 19 runs scored, 26 hits, and 12 RBI. In conference play, she batted .371 with seven runs scored.
Gino Olivieri was named Coach of the Year after leading Alfred to a 36-6 record and the program’s first trip to the NCAA Division III Softball Championship.
One member of each team was named that institution’s representative on the 2010 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.
2010 Empire 8 Softball Awards
Player of the Year: Nicole Hedrick, Alfred University
Pitcher of the Year: Kelly Kocher, Nazareth College
Rookie of the Year: Emily Fenton, Alfred University
Coach of the Year: Gino Olivieri, Alfred University
2010 Empire 8 Softball All-Conference Release