(May 12, 2004) ?C Fordham University freshman pitcher Sara Kinney (Dripping Springs, TX/Dripping Springs) was named the Atlantic 10 Softball Rookie of the Year it was announced today at the Atlantic 10 Softball Awards Dinner at the University of Massachusetts. This marks the second straight season in which a Fordham pitcher has won the Rookie of the Year award as Michelle Schlichtig received the honor last year. Also at the dinner, junior first base Jamie Dautel (Sewell, NJ/Washington Township) and sophomore outfielder Katie Davis (Hanover, PA/South Western) were named All-Atlantic 10 and senior outfielder Erin Brooks (Norwich, NY/Norwich) was named Academic All-Conference. Kinney, who was 16-12 on the year with a 1.40 ERA with three shutouts, was four times named Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week and once named Pitcher of the Week. She struck out 152 batters in 195.2 innings and notched an Atlantic 10 record six saves on the year. Kinney leads the Atlantic 10 in innings pitched and strikeouts and is second in ERA. Her 16 wins in second best in Fordham single-season history as is her 152 strike outs and 1.40 ERA. Dautel, who has appeared in 55 games for the Rams this year, starting 50, is hitting .321 (50-156), second best on the squad. She has five doubles and two triples, along with five home runs, second best on the team, and 24 RBIs. Dautel raised her average over 70 points from a season ago while also turning in career bests with her five home runs and 24 RBI. She ranks among the A-10 leaders in hits (third), home runs (tied for third), RBIs (sixth), batting average (seventh), runs scored (seventh) and slugging percentage (eighth). Davis, who has started all 58 games for the Rams this year, is hitting a team-high .365 (62-170). She set not only the Fordham single-season home run record this year but also set Fordham??s career record with 13 rounds trippers. Davis also has nine doubles, one triple and a team-high 35 RBIs. The 35 RBIs is also a Fordham single-season record as are her 62 hits, 39 runs scored and 112 total bases. She leads the Atlantic 10 in hits and total bases, is tied for the lead in home runs, is second in RBIs, and is third in batting average. Brooks, who was named Third Team Academic All-America last year, was named to the Atlantic 10 All-Academic team for the second straight year. The Computer Information Systems major has a 3.88 GPA and received the Ben Harter Award, presented to the senior student-athlete with the highest GPA from the College of Business Administration. On the year, Brooks is hitting .297 (51-172), fourth best on the team, with a team-high ten doubles, two triples, two home runs and 25 RBIs, second best on the team. The 2004 Clair Hobbs Award winner as the school??s outstanding female student-athlete set career highs in doubles, home runs and RBIs this year and was 10-for-13 in stolen bases. Brooks is among the Atlantic 10 leaders in hits (second), doubles (second), runs scored (second), RBIs (fifth), stolen bases (eighth) and batting average (tenth). Head coach Bridget Baxter will lead the fourth-seeded Rams into the Atlantic 10 Softball Championship on Thursday as they faced top-seeded Massachusetts at noon. Temple, the second seed, will then take on Saint Joseph??s, the third seed, at 2:00 p.m. The Rams enter the tournament with a 35-22-1 record, their second straight 30-win season.