May 9, 2012

2012 SOFTBALL ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Sara Plourde of Massachusetts has been named the 2012 Atlantic 10 Conference Softball Player and Pitcher of the Year, in voting conducted among the league’s head coaches.

In that same vote, Quianna Diaz-Patterson of Massachusetts earned the Rookie of the Year honor, while Elaine Sortino of Massachusetts was named the A-10 Coach of the Year.

Plourde, enters this week’s Atlantic 10 Championship batting .294 on the season with 11 home runs and 30 RBI, in addition to posting a league-leading 33 wins on the mound with an ERA of 1.79 over 274 innings pitched. The senior from Bristol, Conn., has also recorded a NCAA best 487 strikeouts this season. She concluded A-10 play with a record of 18-0 in conference with a 0.86 ERA including seven shutouts, three no-hitters and an opponent batting average of .095.

Joining on Plourde on the All-Conference First Team are Charlotte’s Briana Gwaltney; Fordham’s Lindsey Bright, Elise Fortier and Jamie Labovick, Jen Mineau, and Paige Ortiz; Cyndill Matthews of Massachusetts; Bernadette Moran of Saint Joseph’s; along with Temple’s Stephanie Pasquale and Sarah Prezioso.

The All-Conference Second Team consists of Brandy Brown of Dayton; Kara Clauss and Lauren Wilson of George Washington; Katie Bettencourt, Quianna Diaz-Patterson, Kyllie Magill and Lindsey Webster of Massachusetts; Rhode Island’s Kelly Coker and Dana Parks; and Lauren Rendon of Saint Joseph’s.

Diaz-Patterson, a shortstop from Amherst, Mass., is batting .359 on the season with four home runs and is currently tied for the A-10 lead in RBI with 40. Entering this week’s play, she is fourth in the A-10 in both batting and slugging percentage (.569) and fifth in base hits (55).

Joining Diaz-Patterson on the All-Rookie Team is Charlotte’s Lexi Betancourt and Alex Rogers; Dayton’s Kayla English and Natalie Mariano; Fordham’s Paige Ortiz and Brianna Turgeon; Victoria Valos of George Washington; La Salle’s Alicia Aughton; along with Lauren Rendon and Nicole Palase of Saint Joseph’s.

Now in her 33rd year at Massachusetts, Sortino has earned the A-10 Coach of the Year award an unprecedented 11 times, this time after guiding the Minutewomen to a record of 35-11 on the season with a perfect 19-0 record in A-10 play.