Sports News: Spring 2006

Monday, May 8, 2006

MORAVIAN’S MEAGAN HENNESSY NAMED COMMONWEALTH CONFERENCE PITCHER OF THE WEEK;
LAUREN HOMA GARNERS PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS

ANNVILLE, PA --- Senior pitcher Meagan Hennessy (Freehold, NJ/Freehold Township HS) of the Moravian College softball team has been named the Commonwealth Conference Pitcher of the Week for the sixth time this season for her performance last week while junior outfielder Lauren Homa (Chalfont, PA/Central Bucks West HS) earned Commonwealth Conference Player of the Week honors.

Hennessy, who was named the Commonwealth Conference Pitcher of the Week for the second consecutive week, was named the Most Valuable Player of the Commonwealth Conference Tournament for the second straight season as the Greyhounds won their sixth consecutive conference tournament title. Hennessy was 3-1 with a 0.90 ERA, one shutout and 28 strikeouts in 31 innings.
She opened the tournament with a 2-1 victory over Susquehanna University in which she allowed an unearned run on two hits while striking out seven. Hennessy then tossed a ten-inning, four-hit shutout of Lebanon Valley College to advance to the championship round. Hennessy allowed a walk and struck out nine in the game.

In the first championship game against Lebanon Valley, Hennessy allowed three first inning runs but no more in a 3-1 loss that saw her allow nine hits and a walk while striking out eight batters. In the deciding game, Hennessy gave up a run on three hits and a walk with four strikeouts to send the Greyhounds to the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament for the ninth straight year. She was also flawless in the field with two putouts and six assists.

Hennessy continues to climb up the NCAA Division III record books. She is now second in career shutouts with 51, seventh in career victories with 89, sixth in career strikeouts 834, tied for ninth in career ERA at 0.86, eighth in innings pitched with 785.2 and tied for sixth in complete games with 100.

Homa was the Greyhounds’ leading hitter as the team captured its sixth straight Commonwealth Conference Tournament Championship. Homa hit .538 with seven hits in 13 at-bats with a double and an RBI. Homa was moved up to the second spot in the batting order for the tournament and had three sacrifice bunts including two in the championship game that helped Moravian score a pair of runs in the win. Homa was two-for-three in a 2-1 win over Susquehanna. She then went three-for-four with a game-winning RBI single in the bottom of the tenth inning in a 1-0 victory over Lebanon Valley.

In the first championship game, Homa was one-for-four in a 3-1 loss to Lebanon Valley. In the top of the first inning of the “if necessary game”, Homa doubled for the 100th hit of her career, the 22nd player at Moravian to reach 100 career hits. In her next two at-bats, Homa had sacrifice bunts to setup Greyhound runs in the 3-1 title win. Homa also made two putouts from her left field position.

Moravian is scheduled to return to action as the fourth seed in the 2006 NCAA Division III Regional at Salisbury (MD) University beginning on Thursday, May 11th. The Greyhounds will take on fifth seed King’s College in the first game of the tournament at 10:00 a.m.