The Penn State Behrend softball team recently saw five players named to the 2008 Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference All-Conference Team. Junior outfielder Katie Whitby (Tyrone), and junior pitcher Julie Koman (McKees Rocks/Montour) were both named First-Team All-Conference. Junior second baseman Nikki Kaschauer (South Park) was named Second-Team All-Conference, while junior outfielder Allison Babish (Coraopolis/Montour) and freshman designated player Kelsey Mulhollem (Altoona) were both selected Honorable Mention All-Conference.
Whitby was named to the All-AMCC first team for the third consecutive season. She led the league in runs scored (46), triples (7), and stolen bases (15). Whitby also was second in hits (55) and fifth in total bases (83) while batting .393 for the season.
Koman was again dominant on the mound for the Blue and White. She led the AMCC in a number of statistical categories including E.R.A. (1.42), strikeouts (147), wins (20), and opponents’ batting average (.183). This is the third straight season that Koman has been named to the All-AMCC first team.
Kaschauer led the conference in hits (57), and was second in triples (5), sixth in RBIs (34), eighth in runs scored (33), and ninth in total bases (73) while batting .401 on the season. This is the third all-conference selection for Kaschauer as she was named to the first team the past two seasons.
Babish had her best season for the Behrend Lions batting .331 with 60 total bases, 29 runs scored, 43 hits, and 22 RBIs. This is the first all-conference selection for her. Mulhollem got her career off to a great start this season by playing in 33 games. She hit .369 with 31 hits, 21 RBIs, 20 runs scored, and 48 total bases.
Whitby is the career leader in triples at Behrend, with a three-year total of 22, including seven in 2008. Katie also led the squad in slugging percentage (.593), steals (15 in 16 attempts), runs scored (46), walks (20), and on-base percentage (.472) and tied for home runs with two. She was second in hits (55), doubles (8) and RBI (30), and third in batting average (.393). In her three years on the softball team, the Behrend Lions have recorded 96 wins (96-38). In the field, Katie made just two errors in 42 chances.
The Blue and White (33-12), coached by fifth year head coach Stacy Pondo, now head to the NCAA Tournament to compete in opening round play in an eight-team regional today at Ithaca College. The current edition of Penn State Behrend has a chance to tie or set the school record for most wins in a season. That mark was set in 2006, when the Blue and White finished 34-10. Behrend, which won the AMCC post season tournament championship after losing in the finals in the previous two seasons, will face Ramapo (33-10) at 4:00 p.m. and play again on Friday in a game to be determined based on Thursday’s results.
