Six members of the No. 1-ranked Emory University softball squad have been selected to the 2012 All-University Athletic Association Team. The all-league honorees were chosen by the conference coaches based on their entire play this season.
The Eagles of Head Coach Penny Siqueiros placed four players on the All-UAA First Team and two on the second team. Senior pitcher Bridget Holloway (Sparta, IL) headlined the Eagles' first-team honorees by being named the conference's Most Valuable Player. It is the fifth time and second straight season that an Emory player has been chosen as the UAA MVP. Other first-team nods went to senior catcher Jessica Boni (Fuquay Varina, NC), sophomore first baseman Megan Light (Atlanta, GA) and senior outfielder Jessica Thomas (Springfield, VA).
Sophomore second baseman Claire Bailey (Henrico, VA) and classmate Lauren Gorodetsky (Palm City, FL) rounded out the honorees with spots on the second team.
Holloway has carved out a won-lost record of 17-1 in the circle this year with her victory the second-highest mark in the UAA while ranking eighth on the school's seasonal ladder. She has tossed 112 2/3 innings and has struck out 77 opponents while issuing just nine walks. In NCAA statistics through games played Apr. 22, Holloway ranked 10th among all Division III pitchers in fewest walks allowed per seven innings. Named to the UAA All-Tournament team after chalking up a 3-0 record at the conference championships, Holloway is the owner of a 1.74 ERA with 11 complete games to her credit in 18 starts. Career-wise, she ranks second on the school's all-time list in wins (60) and innings pitched (460 2/3), and holds down the No. 6 position in ERA (1.74) and strikeouts (312).
Boni, a starter in all 36 of the team's games this year, has been rock solid behind the plate while posting a .330 hitting mark. Second on the team and tied for the No. 2 spot in the conference with 36 RBIs, Boni has six multi-hit games to her credit while driving in two or more runs on 10 occasions. Named earlier this season to the UAA All-Tournament Team, Boni has socked six homers, good for the second on the team. She hit safely in 12 of the club's last 14 regular-season games, hitting at a .452 (19-of-42) in that stretch. On the Eagles' career ladder, she is tied for sixth in round trippers with 12 and is ninth with 30 doubles. It marks the second straight season that Boni has captured a first-team berth.
Light, who was named the UAA Tournament Most Valuable Player after helping the Eagles to their third straight conference crown, has swung a big bat throughout the campaign with a .400 batting average, collecting a team-leading 46 hits in
115 trips to the plate. Tied for the top spot in the league with seven homers, Light has driven in a conference-best 39 runs and scored 32 times, second most among Emory players. A starter in all 36 games, she is tied for the squad's lead with 13 multi-hit outings and has knocked in two or more runs a team-high 12 times. At the conclusion of the regular season, Light already stands No. 2 on the school's all-time list with 16 home runs and ninth with 100 RBIs.
Thomas, an All-UAA pick in both 2010 and 2011, has been a key cog in an Emory offense that has produced 278 runs, tied for fifth on the school's seasonal ladder, and whose 7.4 runs-per-game averaged ranked 11th nationally through Apr. 22. A starter in all 36 games, Thomas is hitting .400 with 44 hits, tied for second on the team, in 110 trips to the plate. She landed a berth on this year's UAA All-Tournament Team and has pounded out three homers along with a team-high 14 doubles with that total seventh on the school's seasonal list. Thomas claims 11 multi-hit performances, including two games with four safeties, and has driven two or more runs six times. She is Emory's all-time leader with 26 home runs and holds down the No. 3 position with 151 RBIs, just four shy of tying for the top spot.
Bailey has started all 36 games and is tied for the No. 2 position on the team with 44 hits en route to registering a .389 effort at the plate. Bailey has the team's longest hitting streak of the year at 11 games (Mar. 14 – Apr. 21) and has hit safely in 15 of the Eagles' last 16 outings. She has manufactured 12 multi-hit contests along with five multiple-RBI games. Bailey went 5-for-5 with a pair of RBIs in a 9-8 victory over Millsaps (Feb. 25) and hit .615 (8-for-13) over the team's final four home games of the year.
The speedy Gorodetsky has drawn starting assignments in 36 games and has been a sparkplug for the Emory offense with her .378 batting average (31-of-82) along with her team-high 15 walks and 31 runs, third highest on the squad. She has been successful on all nine of her base-stealing attempts and stands third among Eagles in on-base percentage (.480). Gordetsky has picked up two or more hits in seven games and has three performances of two or more RBIs to her credit.
Finally, Siqueiros, along with assistants Lee Dobbins, Johnny Thomas and Bob Heck, were picked as the UAA Coaching Staff of the Year. It marks the second straight year and sixth time overall that an Emory coaching staff has been tabbed for that honor.
Emory finished off the regular season with a 33-3 won-lost ledger and will hear on May 7 as to where and who they will be playing in the NCAA Tournament.