Virginia Beach, Va., May 6, 2009 - North Carolina A&T outfielder Ryanne Hill was named 2009 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Softball Player of the Year. Florida A&M’s Amanda Reyes was selected as the Pitcher of the Year and Howard’s Rebecca Kirshner garnered the Rookie of the Year honor. Head Coach Sam Douglas of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore was named the MEAC Coach of the Year.
Post season awards will be distributed to all honorees during a pre-tournament banquet tonight at the Center for Civil Engagement on the campus of Bethune-Cookman University. All awards are voted on by the conference’s head softball coaches and sports information directors.
Hill has been the offensive force for the Lady Aggies this season. Completing just her sophomore campaign, the Charlotte, North Carolina native leads the MEAC in doubles (14) and ranks 21st in the NCAA. She leads her team in hitting (.377), third best in the MEAC, and has notched five home runs, two triples, and 42 RBI in 44 games this season. She is second in the MEAC and has accounted for 42 runs along with 57 hits. Hill has garnered two MEAC Player of the Week honors this season and was selected to the all-conference first-team.
Reyes finished the season with a 17-1 record, including three saves, and an ERA of 2.54 in 215.1 innings, second most in the MEAC. She was undefeated in conference play with an 8-0 mark, and two saves, and recorded a conference low ERA of 0.36. She led the MEAC in 33 pitching statistical categories including but not limited to saves (3), innings per game (4.68), hits allowed per game (6.73), runs allowed per game (3.58), strikeouts per game (5.53), walks allowed per game (2.11), earned runs per game (2.54) and home runs allowed per game (0.20). Her consistent play from the circle helped the Lady Rattlers to an unblemished 12-0 overall record and the southern divisional title.
Howard’s Rebecca Kirshner was named the Rookie of the Year. The Gaithersburg, Maryland native hit .326 from the plate in 46 games including three home runs, one triple, eight doubles and 18 RBI. She ranked fifth in the MEAC in runs scored with 30 and recorded a fielding percentage of .946.
Sam Douglas was named Coach of the Year after guiding the Lady Hawks to a 20-16 overall record and 7-7 mark in the MEAC. Douglas returned to the Lady Hawks last year season after serving as an assistant from 1991-97 and again from 2004-06. He served a stint as head coach during the 1991 season. The 2009 Lady Hawks will make their first trip to the conference’s post season tournament since 2003 and has won more conference and non-conference games since the 2001 season. Despite a tied record (7-7) with Morgan State, UMES earned the playoff berth with a 2-1 edge over the Lady Bears during the regular season play.
Norfolk State led all MEAC teams with five student-athletes who earned post season honors. Two student-athletes received first team selections and three were named to the second team. Delaware State and Maryland Eastern Shore picked up four first and second-team honorees followed by Florida A&M who earned three to the MEAC’s post season teams.
Joining Reyes (FAMU) and Hill (NCAT) on the first-team were Alyssa Velazquez (NSU), Meghan Ramsey (NSU), Kelsi Saunders (HAM), Evelyn Garcia (HAM), Tamara Griffin (MSU), Mishayla Truttman (UMES), Andrea Waters (DSU), Rhianna Green (FAMU), and Kendra Saunders (UMES).
Howard University and Florida A&M University finished as the divisional leaders and will enter tournament play as the number one seeds.
Despite missing two conference games due to inclement weather, Howard earned the conference’s top spot in the north with a 9-4 mark, 20-26 overall record.
The Florida A&M Lady Rattlers cruised through divisional play posting a 12-0 MEAC record. FAMU earned the most total wins of the season with 25 and was the only team to record an unblemished conference mark.
The softball championship gets underway Thursday, May 7 beginning at 10 a.m. Florida A&M (S1) will face Maryland E. Shore (N4) while Howard (N1) will matchup against North Carolina A&T (S4) in the first games of the day. Games three and four, pitting Bethune-Cookman (S2) against Hampton (N3) and Delaware State (N2) against Norfolk State (S3), will begin at 1:30 p.m. The championship finale is set for Saturday, May 9 beginning at 1 p.m.
Only the top four teams in each division can compete in the two-game elimination tournament and vie for the championship title. Morgan State (7-7), Coppin State (2-11) and South Carolina State (0-12) have been eliminated from post season play based on their conference finish and/or tiebreaking procedures.
Admission for the 2009 MEAC Softball Championship is $5 for children, students and seniors. Ticket prices for the entire tournament are $12. Tickets are available at the Ormond Beach Sports Complex beginning on May 7.
Click here for the complete 2009 All-MEAC Softball Team.