Newport News, Va. – The Atlantic 10 has today announced its end-of-season awards and the Fordham softball team is once again well-represented. The Rams earned nine separate honors with one major award, three First Team selections, two Second Team honorees, an All-Rookie nod, and two earning All-Academic distinction.
"I'm excited and proud of the team for their awards. They have worked hard all year and its such an honor to be recognized by the Atlantic 10 coaches for their performances," Head coach
Bridget Orchard, herself a seven-time A-10 Coach of the Year, said, "Team success leads to individual recognition and I know the players that received awards are thankful for all their teammates' hard work, as well. We are looking forward to continued success at the A-10 Tournament this week!"
Fordham's freshman two-way standout
Paige Rauch earned A-10 Rookie of the Year honors, the sixth ever for the program, and was named First Team All-Conference as both a second baseman and a pitcher. This is just the second time in league history that a student-athlete has won an All-Conference accolade as both a pitcher and a position player and is the first time a player has earned First Team for both. Fordham's Rachel Gillen was named First Team All-Conference as a pitcher and Second Team as a designated player in 2015. Rauch was also named to the All-Rookie squad.
The Windsor, N.Y. native slashed .303/.448/.684 while starting in all 51 contests this year and finished with a 14-2 record over 22 appearances and 14 starts in the circle, good for a 1.58 ERA, second-lowest in the league, over 106.1 innings. Rauch finished with 10 complete games, two shutouts, and one save, while striking out 78 and holding opponents to a .197 batting average. At the plate, Rauch led the team with 48 runs scored, 40 RBI, 38 walks, and five triples while co-leading the squad with 14 home runs. Rauch notched 46 hits, 104 total bases, and six steals in six attempts. In the field, she recorded just seven errors, good for a .941 fielding percentage. For her efforts, she was named a Top 25 finalist for NFCA Freshman of the Year. In conference play, Rauch's led the way at the plate with eight home runs and 20 RBI, plus 19 runs and 14 walks, but was also 8-1 with a 1.06 ERA in the circle.
Also earning First Team All-Conference was junior
Chelsea Skrepenak, receiving her first league honor after leading the Rams with a .333 batting average. The junior centerfielder made 49 appearances on the year, garnering 47 starts, and finished second on the team with 48 hits, 38 runs scored, three triples, and 12 stolen bases. Skrepenak also chipped in seven home runs, 31 RBI, and 15 walks, while making just four errors in the outfield, good for a .949 clip.
The Rams garnered two Second Team nods – shortstop
Madi Shaw and pitcher
Madie Aughinbaugh. For Shaw, this is her third career All-Conference honor and first Second Team. The senior missed five games due to injury but still slashed .281/.433/.609 with 13 home runs, 39 RBI, 28 runs, and 27 walks. The Raynham, Mass. native currently sits in the top-three of all three triple slash line categories all-time at Fordham, is tied for third for career RBI, and is fourth with 39 career home runs. In league games, Shaw upped those numbers to .318/.551/.864 with eight home runs, 17 RBI, 20 walks, and 15 runs in 19 games.
Aughinbaugh, a two-time Pitcher of the Week, earns her first All-Conference award with stellar pitching numbers throughout her sophomore season, especially in league action. The Port Tobacco, Md. native made 30 appearances and 22 starts, going the distance 13 times, and recording seven shutouts, fifth-most in a single campaign, and a save, to earn a 13-7 record and 2.88 ERA, while striking out 93 in 136.0 innings. In conference games, Aughinbaugh has been tremendous, working to a 9-1 record over 10 starts with eight complete games, five shutouts, and just nine earned runs allowed over 64.0 frames, good for a 0.98 ERA, tops in the league over that span. The sophomore already ranks eighth all-time with 31 wins, sixth with 10 shutouts, sixth with a 2.43 ERA, and 10
th with 181 career strikeouts.
Rounding out the honors for the program were again Skrepenak and Shaw, who earned All-Academic distinction, with GPAs of 3.47 and 3.31, respectively.
The Rams earned the #2 overall seed and a first-round bye and will play the winner of #3 Dayton and #6 George Washington on Thursday at 2:30 p.m.
