Slattery Named Pitcher of the Year; Hilty, Lindsey Earn All-Conference Honors
Seven LHU softball players were named to the 2018 All-PSAC Central Team including Pitcher of the Year Bekah Slattery, and for the second straight year, head coach Kelly Shannon was tabbed Coach of the Year.
LOCK HAVEN – In all, seven members of the Lock Haven University softball team have earned 2018 All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Central Division honors including Bekah Slattery who was named PSAC Central Pitcher of the Year. LHU head coach Kelly Shannon was named the PSAC Central Coach of the Year as well, marking the second straight season where she has been tabbed the Central’s top coach and deservingly so after the Bald Eagles remarkable run that led to a historic 20-0 finish in division play.
Joining Slattery on the All-PSAC Central Team was Madison Mathes (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton), Faith Ceely (Troy, Pa./Troy), Moriah Lindsey (Woolrich, Pa./Central Mountain), Kayla Gee (Williamsport, Pa./Loyalsock), Becca Caputo (Williamsport, Pa./Jersey Shore) and Bree Hilty (Lock Haven, Pa./Central Mountain).
The seven All-Conference honorees mark the most for Lock Haven in a single season since the Bald Eagles placed seven on the All-PSAC team in 2009.
Slattery, LHU’s junior-ace, is Lock Haven’s first two-time PSAC Pitcher of the Year since Hall of Famer Kristin Erb (4X PSAC Divisional Pitcher of the Year, ’06-09).
Mathes was named to the All-PSAC Central Team at catcher, Ceely earned a spot at shortstop, Lindsey snagged a spot in the outfield and Gee joined Slattery at pitcher as the Bald Eagles swept the two pitcher-spots on the PSAC Central Team. Both Caputo (OF) and Hilty (1B) earned at-large spots.
Gee is 16-5 in the circle and won 16 straight games at one point. She has 109 strikeouts. Gee ranks fourth in the PSAC in wins and strikeouts.
Mathes has started 48 of 48 games and is hitting .312 with 32 RBIs. She’s been nearly perfect behind the plate and has helped guide two LHU pitches to pure dominance in the circle.
Ceely, the Bald Eagles lead-off hitter, is hitting .313 with 30 runs scored. She is 24 of 26 on stolen base attempts and her 24 stolen bases lead the PSAC.
Lindsey is hitting .313 with nine doubles, 19 RBIs, and 34 runs scored. She ranks second in the PSAC in sacrifice bunts.
Caputo leads the PSAC with 15 doubles, just one away from tying the single-season school record. She’s hitting .327 with six home runs and 41 RBIs.
During the regular season, Lock Haven went 34-10 and on the way to 34 wins, the Bald Eagles were a perfect 14-0 at home. LHU made history with a perfect 20-0 run through PSAC Central play. Lock Haven became the first PSAC softball team to sweep divisional play since California (Pa.) was perfect in Western Division play in 2014. Since 1993, it’s only the eighth time the feat has been accomplished by a PSAC institution in the sport of softball.
Last week, at the 2018 PSAC Tournament, Lock Haven went 2-2 with wins over Millersville and Seton Hill.
Earlier today, the Bald Eagles were selected for the 2018 NCAA Division II Softball Tournament. LHU is the Atlantic Region’s No. 4 seed and will host the Atlantic 1 Regional Thursday – Saturday. Lock Haven will enter the NCAA Tournament at 36-12 overall and the Bald Eagles have won 29 of 32 games.
FULL PSAC ALL-CONFERENCE RELEASE
