Thursday, June 2, 2005

MORAVIAN’S HEATHER BORTZ AND MEAGAN HENNESSY NAMED ECAC SOUTHERN PLAYER & PITCHER OF THE YEAR;
THREE GREYHOUNDS EARN ALL-STAR HONORS

CAPE COD, MA --- 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 the 2005 Player and Pitcher of the Year and earned spots on the Eastern College Athletic Conference Division III Southern All-Star First Team announced Thursday. The Greyhounds also had one other ECAC Southern All-Star with junior designated hitter Richelle McWilliams (Riegelsville, PA/Easton HS) earning First Team honors.

The trio helped the Greyhounds to a 37-8 record this season and the team’s eight straight trip to the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament including a third straight berth in the regional championship game. Moravian won at least 23 games for the 12th consecutive season and 30 games for the fifth straight year, and the Greyhounds were 13-1 in the Commonwealth Conference regular season. Moravian also won its fifth straight Commonwealth Conference Tournament title and sixth consecutive Commonwealth Conference Championship.

Bortz, who was the ECAC Southern Division III Player of the Year in 2004, earned a spot on the All-Commonwealth Conference First Team for the fourth straight year this spring, and she led Moravian in hitting this spring with a .428 batting average. Bortz, who was on the NFCA All-Region First Team for three consecutive years, had a team high of 62 hits to go with 30 runs scored, six doubles, five triples and 21 RBIs. 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, also added two sacrifice flies, seven stolen bases and 15 walks. She led the 2005 team with 79 assists in the field. Bortz, who was also a three-time National Fastpitch Coaches Association/Louisville Slugger All-American including First Team honors in 2004 and Second Team accolades in 2005 & 2003, was the first player in school history to reach 200 career hits and finished with 253 hits in her career. Bortz, who is also a two-time ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American including a First Team selection in 2005, also owns the school career records for at-bats with 567, runs scored at 137 and batting average at .446.

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, was 29-6 in the circle this season, a school record for wins, with a 0.64 ERA, 18 shutouts, three saves, three no-hitters, 277 strikeouts, all season school records, and just 131 hits, 44 walks and 37 runs (23 earned) allowed in 250 innings of action. She was the ECAC Division III Southern Pitcher of the Year last season as well as earning a spot on the All-Star First Team. Hennessy, who was on the All-Region First Team the last two years was also a First Team NFCA All-American in 2004 and a Second Team honoree in 2005, has already broken the Moravian career records for strikeouts with 609, innings pitched with 585.0, shutouts with 37 and wins with 67.

McWilliams, who was on the Commonwealth All-Conference First Team, the NFCA All-East Region Second Team and the NCAA Regional All-Tournament Team along with Bortz and Hennessy, had a .310 average to go with 36 hits, 17 runs, 37 RBIs, seven doubles, a triple and ten home runs, which tied the single season record.

The complete 2005 ECAC Division III Southern All-Star Team can be found at http://www.ecac.org/sports/womenssoftball.asp.