Thursday, May 12, 2005

FIVE GREYHOUNDS MAKE ALL-REGION TEAMS; BORTZ & HENNESSY NAMED TO NFCA ALL-REGION FIRST TEAM

STARKVILLE, MS --- Senior shortstop Heather Bortz (Allentown, PA/Parkland HS) and junior pitcher Meagan Hennessy (Freehold, NJ/Freehold Township HS) of the Moravian College softball team have been named to the 2004 National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-East Region First Team announced Thursday by the NFCA. Junior designated player Richelle McWilliams (Riegelsville, PA/Easton HS) and freshman second baseman Beth Paly (Whitehall, PA/Whitehall HS) earned spots on the All-Region Second Team while sophomore first baseman Lauren Homa (Chalfont, PA/Central Bucks West HS) garnered a spot on the All-Region Third Team.

By being named to the first team, Bortz and Hennessy are now eligible for NFCA All-American honors, which will be announced prior to the NCAA Division III World Series next week.

The Greyhounds won the team’s fifth straight Commonwealth Conference Tournament title and sixth straight Commonwealth Conference Championship and garnered the program’s eighth consecutive NCAA Division III Tournament appearance last weekend by winning the 2005 Commonwealth Conference Tournament. Moravian, which is 34-6 overall and tied for 19th in the latest National Fastpitch Coaches Association Top 25 Poll, will be in action this coming weekend at an NCAA Division III Regional being hosted by Salisbury (MD) University. The Greyhounds, who are seeded second in the five-team regional, will play third seeded Roanoke (VA) College at 12:00 p.m. on Friday, May 13th.

Bortz, who was the Commonwealth Conference Rookie of the Year in 2002 and the Commonwealth Conference Player of the Year in 2003, 2004 and 2005, earned a spot on the All-Commonwealth Conference First Team for the fourth straight year, and she leads Moravian in hitting this spring with a .419 batting average. Bortz, who has been on the All-Region First Team for three consecutive years, has a team high 54 hits, 25 runs, five doubles, five triples and 20 RBIs. Bortz has also added two sacrifice flies, five stolen bases and 12 walks. Bortz, a two-time All-American, has become the first player in school history to reach 200 career hits and has 245 in her career. She also leads the team with 70 assists in the field. Bortz currently owns the school career records for runs scored at 132 and batting average at .445.

Hennessy, who was named the Commonwealth Conference Co-Pitcher of the Year and Rookie of the Year in 2003 and Pitcher of the Year in 2004 & 2005 while being named to the All-Commonwealth Conference First Team each season, is 27-4 in the circle this season, a school record for wins, with a 0.48 ERA, a school record 17 shutouts, three saves, three no-hitters, 275 strikeouts, all season school records, and just 105 hits, 38 walks and 26 runs (15 earned) allowed in 221 innings of action. Hennessy, who was on the All-Region First Team a year ago, has already broken the Moravian career records for strikeouts with 586, innings pitched with 556.0, shutouts with 36 and wins with 65.

Paly, an at-large selection to the All-Region Second Team, has contributed 43 hits, 21 RBIs, 27 runs, nine doubles and a .374 average while McWilliams has a. 324 average to go with 33 hits, 16 runs, 31 RBIs, five doubles, a triple and nine home runs. McWilliams was a member of the 2004 Commonwealth All-Conference Second Team. Homa has 34 hits, 26 runs, 24 RBIs, four doubles, four triples and two home runs this spring.

The complete NFCA All-Region Teams can be found at www.nfca.org.