Virginia Beach, Va., May 13, 2010 - Delaware State outfielder Jordan Reid was named the 2010 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Softball Player of the Year. Bethune-Cookman's Aurelia Gamch was named Rookie of the Year. Coppin State's Paige Arnold was named Pitcher of the Year and the Eagles head coach Bob Ullman received the Coach of the Year accolade.
All awards are voted on by the conference's head softball coaches and sports information directors.
The 2010 MEAC Softball Championship gets underway today at the Ormond Beach Field in Ormond Beach, Florida.
Reid a native of Accokeek, Maryland has been an all-around player for the Lady Hornets this season. She is tied as the conference leader in on-base percentage (.500) and leads the MEAC in hits per game (1.36). In just her second year of collegiate competition, Reid finished as the team's second top hitter (.457) and posted one home run, two triples and five doubles on 53 hits. She stole 20 bases on 23 attempts and recorded 37 putouts and five assists defensively. In addition to Player of the Year honors, Reid was named to the All-MEAC First team.
Gamch started in all 50 games for the Wildcats recording a .276 batting average in 145 attempts. She recorded two home runs, one triple and 10 doubles for the season with a .400 slugging percentage. She led the team in sacrifice bunts (10) and ranked second in runs scored (29), doubles (10), and walks (20). Gamch was named the MEAC's Rookie of the Week twice this season.
Arnold proved to be key as the Coppin State Lady Eagles amassed one of their best seasons in six years. Named as the MEAC Pitcher of the Week twice this season, Arnold made 34 pitching appearances and tallied a 20-12 win-loss record with a 1.50 ERA. She pitched 191.1 innings with 25 complete games and recorded 209 strikeouts. She led the MEAC in earned run average (1.50), opposing batting average (.197) and finished in second in innings per game (5.63), strikeouts per game (7.65), hits allowed per game (5.16) and runs allowed per game (2.89).
Bob Ullman was named Coach of the Year after leading the Lady Eagles to a 22-20 overall record and 9-6 mark in the MEAC. Ullman took the reins of the softball program after serving as an assistant during the 2009 season. Under his leadership, the 2010 Lady Eagles broke the school's record for most wins in a season with 22 and are making their first trip to the conference's post season tournament since 2004.
Florida A&M and North Carolina A&T led all MEAC teams with four student-athletes who earned post season honors. FAMU and Delaware State each placed three players on the first team.
Joining Reid (DSU) and Arnold (CSU) on the first-team were Amanda Reyes (FAMU), Tamra Griffin (MSU), Kelsei Saunders (HAM), Melissa Oliphant (FAMU), Tawny Reeger (DSU), Jade Dudley (CSU), Courtney Young (Howard), Jasmin Donaldson (FAMU) and Rachel Carroll (DSU).
Bethune-Cookman and Howard finished as the divisional leaders and enter tournament play as the number one seeds.
The 2010 MEAC Softball Championship tournament gets underway Thursday, May 13 beginning at 10 a.m.
Bethune-Cookman (S1) will face Hampton (N4) while Howard (N1) will matchup against South Carolina State (S4) in the first games of the day. Games three and four, pitting Delaware State (N2) against Florida A&M (S3) and North Carolina A&T (S2) against Coppin State (N3), will begin at 1:30 p.m. The championship finale is set for Saturday, May 15 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 (3-12), Maryland Eastern Shore (0-15) and Norfolk State (3-9) have been eliminated from post season play based on their conference finish and/or tiebreaking procedures.
Admission for the 2010 MEAC Softball Championship is $5 for youth, students and seniors. Discounted ticket packages for all three days can be purchased for $12. Tickets are available at the Ormond Beach Sports Complex beginning on Thursday, May 13.