May 11, 2010
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - The Fordham softball team nearly swept the 2010 Atlantic 10 All-Conference Awards as Jamie LaBovick (Peoria, Ariz./Sunrise Mountain) was named Rookie of the Year, head coach Bridget Orchard was honored as Coach of the Year for the third time in her career and junior infielder Beckah Wiggins (Conklin, N.Y./Susquehanna Valley) was tabbed co-Player of the year in voting conducted among the Conference's head coaches.
Sophomore pitcher Jen Mineau (Schaghticoke, N.Y./Hoosic Valley Central) was voted Student-Athlete of the Year by the A-10's sports information directors. Sophomore Katie Bettencourt of Massachusetts joined Wiggins as the Co-Player of the Year and the Minutewoman's sophomore Sara Plourde was tabbed Pitcher of the Year. Joining Wiggins and Mineau, Fordham had two additional players on the All-Conference First Team with Wiggins at second base, junior Jocelyn Dearborn (New Milford, Pa./Blue Ridge) at third base, senior Erin Fisher (Woodinville, Wash./Woodinville) in the outfield and Mineau as one of the two pitchers picked.
LaBovick was named to the second team and junior Samantha Pellechio (Lebanon, N.J./Freehold Township) was named as an honorable mention shortstop.
Wiggins has led Fordham at the plate throughout the season with her .337 batting average, including 32 runs scored and 12 home runs. The Conklin, N.Y., native has recorded an A-10 best and program-record 58 RBI so far this spring and is just three away from tying the Conference single-season mark. Her 58 RBI also rates 12th nationally. Additionally, Wiggins' ranks among the A-10 leaders in four statistical categories, including home runs (second), slugging percentage (second), triples (second) and batting average (sixth). She has 14 multi-RBI games this season and was named Atlantic 10 Player of the Week on Mar. 29. Wiggins is only the second-ever Player of the Year for Fordham, Katie Davis won the award in 2005.
Bettencourt enters this week's Atlantic 10 Championship (May 12-15) ranked second in the league offensively with a .379 batting average and a league-best .500 average against A-10 competition. The Salem, N.H., resident has registered 50 hits on the season - including 19 for extra bases - and 30 RBI, while slugging .621 with a .439 on-base percentage. In A-10 games, the outfielder ranks second in hits (25), fourth in runs (18), fourth in RBIs (20), fourth in doubles (six), and is tied for second in total bases (46). This spring, Bettencourt was twice named A-10 Player of the Week.
Plourde, the NCAA's strikeouts leader (501), enters the Championship with a 1.03 ERA and a league-best 36 wins. The Bristol, Conn., native was unbeaten in league play (16-0) and boasted a league-leading 0.75 earned-run average in A-10 action. She has won 22 straight decisions and hurled five no-hitters this spring. In addition to total strikeouts, Plourde also ranks among the national leaders in strikeouts per seven innings (second), victories (second), shutouts (sixth) and ERA (eighth). The five-time A-10 Pitcher of the Week is only the 11th pitcher in NCAA history to record more than 500 K's in a single-season.
Also on the A-10's First Team are Charlotte's Keri Palma; Sarah Reeves, Carly Normandin and Meghan Carta of Massachusetts; and Kristin Nicoletti of Saint Louis. The All-Conference second-team consists of Charlotte's Emily Jeffrey and Serena Smith; Dayton's Molly Myer; La Salle's Gina Massaro; Kyllie Magill of Massachusetts; Rhode Island's Melissa Wilson; Saint Joseph's Brooke Darreff and Erin Gallagher; Brittney Schmidt of Saint Louis; and Temple's Danielle Fagan.
LaBovick has enjoyed an impressive rookie campaign for the Rams. The two-time Rookie of the Week selection finished the regular season with a .341 overall batting average, including 57 hits - 20 for extra bases - and 29 RBI. She ranks second in the A-10 in runs scored (43) and doubles (13), fifth in total bases (91) and eighth in batting average (.341). LaBovick is Fordham's fifth Rookie of the Year.
Nicole Ayers (2007),
Laura Klaiber (2005),
Sara Kinney (2004) and
Michele Schlichtig (2003) also won the accolade for the Rams.
Joining LaBovick on the All-Rookie team is Charlotte's Briana Gwaltney; Dayton's Kathleen Maloof; Teea Rogers of Massachusetts; Rhode Island's Erika Szymanski; Saint Joseph's Dana Parks and Dana Stinner; and Jessica Buschjost and Laura Bohning of Saint Louis.
Mineau earns Student-Athlete of the Year honors after posting a 3.66 grade point average as a visual arts major. The pitcher hailing from Schaghticoke, N.Y., was named a 2010
ESPN The Magazine All-District selection and earned her second All-Conference nod this spring. Mineau, an Amateur Softball Association (ASA) Softball Top 25 Player of the Year Finalist, has established Fordham single-season marks for strikeouts (436), wins (30) and shutouts (14), along with a single-game record for strikeouts (22). She currently leads the nation in strikeouts per game (13/7.0 IP) and ranks second nationally with her 0.69 ERA. Mineau was named A-10 Pitcher of the Week on five occasions and was selected as the Louisville Slugger/NFCA National Division I Player of the Week on May 4.
Along with Mineau, the softball Academic All-Conference team consists of Charlotte's Serena Smith and Whitney Williams; Dayton's Molly Myer; La Salle's Gina Massaro; Kyllie Magill of Massachusetts; Kristin Nicoletti and Caitlin Trevillyan of Saint Louis; and Temple's Michelle Lerner and Samantha Schoell.
Now in her ninth season, Orchard earns her third Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year nod after guiding the Rams to a program-best 45-8 overall record and 16-2 mark in league play. Over the last six seasons, Orchard has led Fordham to more than 200 wins, including eight-straight appearances in the A-10 Championship and a pair of showings in the Finals. A four-year standout at Villanova from 1994-97, Orchard still holds three Wildcat records, and led Villanova to the ECAC Championship title in 1996. Named to the first team All-Big East, she was also a three-time All-Big East Academic Team member, and was ranked second among the toughest players in the nation to strike out. She received her degree in communication arts from Villanova in 1997, and earned a Masters of Education from Temple in 2001. Orchard also tabbed Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year honors in 2003 and 2005.
