Softball Sweeps America East Year-End Awards
May 9, 2007 | Softball
BOSTON –Following its successful regular season, the Boston University softball team has swept the America East yearly honors, as announced at the conference’s annual banquet, held on Wednesday evening at BU’s Photonics Center. Sophomore Christy Leath took home Player of the Year honor, while freshmen Megan Currier and Rachel Hebert were recognized as the Pitcher and Rookie of the Year, respectively. Head coach Shawn Rychcik was named Coach of the Year, capping off an evening where the Terriers were also honored as the America East regular-season champions. It is the first time in America East softball history a team has swept all the major year-end awards.
In addition, eight different Terriers were named to the all-conference teams, as Leath, Currier and Hebert were joined by sophomore Melissa Dubay and senior Chiya Louie on the All-Conference First Team, while sophomore Shayne Lotito, sophomore Brooke Hudson and senior Brandi Shields were named to the second team. Currier and Hebert also garnered All-Rookie Team honors.
Leath, a second-team honoree in 2006, becomes the fourth individual Terrier to earn the Player of the Year award, as Jaime Haas won it in 2002, 2003 and 2005, Beth Iwamoto won it in 1997 and Michelle White was a two-time honoree in 1993 and 1995.
The sophomore catcher leads the conference in batting (.386) and on base percentage (.488) and is third in walks (26), fourth in slugging percentage (.636) and fifth in RBI (34).
In her rookie campaign, Currier amassed 18 wins in the circle while suffering just four losses. She earned the highest winning percentage (.818) and collected more victories (18) than any other pitcher in the league. Her 2.02 ERA ranks third in the conference and leads the BU squad. Her win total ties the freshman record with teammate Cassidi Hardy and Ashlee Freeman. The Torrance, Calif., native becomes just the second freshman in AE softball history to earn Pitcher of the Year accolades and the first since 1998.
Hebert has made her presence known in her first year in the scarlet and white, breaking the freshman home run record with 11 on the season. She is currently batting .331 with 43 RBI. Along with Currier, Hebert has earned a weekly conference award three times, once as the Player of the Week and twice as rookie. The Humble, Texas, native has also been stellar on defense, recording the second-best fielding percentage in the conference (.995).
Head coach Shawn Rychcik collects America East Coach of the Year honors. In his third season with the Terriers, Rychcik has led the team to a 34-12 record and a 17-3 mark in America East. The Terriers have qualified for the postseason in every season with Rychcik at the helm. Under his guidance, BU has amassed an 89-60-1 overall record (.600) and 42-17 (.712) in league action. In addition, he has coached 18 all-conference honorees.
Joining Leath, Currier and Hebert on the first team are Dubay and Louie. It is the first honor for Dubay, who started all 46 games at shortstop. She hit .353 with 29 RBI – a career high. Louie is the Terriers’ home run and RBI leader. The Seattle, Wash., native broke the single-season and career home run records in the final week of the regular-season. She surpassed the single-season mark against Boston College with two homers and then hit one more over the fence at Vermont to break the career record.
Earning second-team honors were Hudson, Lotito and Shields. Hudson earns second-team accolades for the second consecutive year. The Terriers’ second baseman has been consistent on defense with a .962 fielding percentage. She has hit .246 over the course of 46 games with three home runs and 18 RBI. Lotito is fourth in the conference in runs scored (37) and fifth in stolen bases (17), having stolen 15 straight bases without getting caught. Shields is the team leader in stolen bases with 23, which is second in America East, and is third in the conference in hits (55), fourth in doubles (11) and tied for second in runs (38).
In addition to their athletic accomplishments, Leath and Louie earned All-Academic Team honors. Student-athletes named to the All-Academic Team must maintain a 3.0 GPA and be a nomination on the postseason awards ballot.
The Terriers will play host to the 2007 America East Championship beginning on Thursday, May 10. As the top-seeded team, BU will square off with No. 4 Albany at 1:00 p.m. It marks the fifth time in program history the Terriers have enjoyed the top seed heading into the conference championship, as the squad also won the regular-season title in 1993, 2001, 2002 and 2003.
