Stony Brook, N.Y. — Boston University senior shortstop Jamie Haas was chosen America East Player of the Year for the third time. University at Albany won the other three major awards announced at the America East Softball Banquet Wednesday night at Stony Brook University. Junior Amanda Morin was named Pitcher of the Year. Outfielder Amber Maisonet was chosen Rookie of the Year. Chris Cannata was selected Coach of the Year. All voting was conducted by the conference’s head coaches.Awards
Haas became the first player in the 14-year history of the conference to receive the top award three times. Haas, now a four-time first-team all-conference selection, is second in America East in batting at .387, while she leads the league in runs scored (41, 0.95 per game), on-base percentage (.450), and stolen bases (23, 0.53 per game). She is also tied for fourth in triples (3).
Morin is 14-2 with a microscopic 0.65 earned run average (ERA). She has 106 strikeouts, while only allowing 15 walks and 47 hits in 107.1 innings. She leads America East in ERA, shutouts (7), and opponent’s batting average (.126).
Maisonet is batting .333, collecting 47 hits, while scoring 30 runs. She is tied for third in America East with 19 stolen bases in 25 attempts.
Cannata has led the Great Danes to a 32-12 overall record and a 17-2 mark in the conference as the top seed in the America East Championship. Now in her 11th season at Albany, Cannata has guided Albany to a 130-60 record since joining the conference in 2002. The Great Danes are 63-20 against conference foes during that time.
Morin is joined on the all-conference first team by junior teammate Casey Halloran and Maine’s Sarah Bennis at pitcher. Halloran, a second-team choice a season ago, leads America East in wins (15), is second in ERA (2.06) and fourth in batting average against (.233). Bennis has compiled an 8-8 record for the Black Bears while racking up a league-leading 111 strikeouts and only 21 walks in 103.2 innings of work. Junior Ali Meacham of Albany is the first-team catcher. Meacham is batting .333 with three homers and 15 runs batted in (RBI’s). She’s also reaching base at a .417 clip.
Joining Haas on the first-team infield are senior Kristen Brust
of Stony Brook, a four-peat choice at first base; junior Katrina Dunning of Albany, a repeat selection at second base; junior Brittany Cheney of Maine, at two-time selection at shortstop; junior Hayley Durham of Stony Brook is a repeat at third base and joining her is sophomore Kelly Ogden of Albany. Brust is batting .348 with 12 doubles, 13 home runs and 37 RBI. She leads America East in slugging percentage (.690), total bases (107), and is second in home runs. Dunning is hitting .314 with nine doubles, four triples and 22 RBI’s. Cheney is batting .316, and leads the Black Bears with three homers and 20 RBI’s. Durham is hitting .272 and leads the league in home runs (17) and is second in America East in RBI’s (43). Durham’s 17 home runs is a conference season record. Ogden is third in the conference in batting (.359), while clubbing 11 homers and totaling a league-leading 47 RBI’s. She is only three short of the conference record of 50 set a year ago by Stony Brook’s Brust.
Joining Maisonet in the first-team outfield includes seniors DeKenya Williams of Boston U. and Jess Brady of Maine. Williams, a three-time first-team choice, is batting .293 with four homers and 29 driven in. She also boasts a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage and four outfield assists. Brady, a four-time selection, who’s batting .297 and swiped 20 bases on the season, has also been flawless in the outfield, while throwing out five runners from the outfield.
Sophomore Briana Hout of Hartford was chosen the first-team designated player. Hout ranks seventh in America East in slugging percentage (.556), and leads the Hawks with 25 RBI’s. Junior Julie Gannon was selected as the utility player. Gannon is hitting .297 for the Great Danes.
The second team includes sophomore Ashlee Freeman of Boston U. and freshman Aimee Kern of Vermont at pitcher. Sophomore Nikki Thompson of Hartford is the second-team catcher.
The second-team infield consists of juniors Ashley Rios of Albany at first base and Nicole Vitello of Binghamton at second base, sophomore Kate Haber of Vermont at shortstop, and Maine senior Lauren Dulkis was selected at third base.
Juniors Samantha Morrison of Hartford and Jane Stein of Stony Brook, and sophomore Reilly Ward of UMBC are the second-team outfielders. The second-team designated player is junior Amy Kuhl of Maine. UMBC rookie Kali Shirk is the second-team utility player.
Kern, Maisonet and Shirk lead the all-rookie team. They are joined by pitcher Jenna Grapensteter of Boston U., catchers Devin Glezen of Binghamton and Stevie Shore of UMBC, shortstop Dana Shepherd of UMBC, and outfielders Tyler Benson of Boston U. and Vermont’s Sarah Toczylowski.
Fourteen of the 15 first-team all-conference choices and five of the second-team selections are in action this Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the America East Softball Championship. The double-elimination event begins with No. 1 Albany at No. 4 Stony Brook at 12 noon, followed by No. 2 Boston University vs. No. 3 Maine. Friday’s schedule includes three games with the first to begin at 11 a.m. The championship game is slated for Saturday at 12 noon with a game to follow, if necessary. All games will be played at University Field on the Stony Brook campus.