Six members of the No. 9-ranked Emory University softball squad have been selected to the 2016 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 five players on the All-UAA First Team and one on the second team.
Junior pitcher Brittany File (Carmel, CA) highlighted the Emory contingent by being named the league's Player of the Year, the sixth different Eagle to earn that distinction Freshman Cassie Baca (South Pasadena, CA) garnered first-team accolades and was chosen as UAA Rookie of the Year, the first Emory performer to claim that honor since 2011 (Megan Light).
Senior Melody Carter (Slidell, LA), senior Alyssa Pollard (Knoxville, TN) and sophomore Janelle Turnquest (Austin, TX) were first-team picks while junior Taylor Forte (Pleasantville, NY) was chosen to the second team.
In addition, Siqueiros, along with assistants, Casey Chrietzberg, Larry Ray, Chuck Lewis and Katy Neal were selected as the conference's Coaching Staff of the Year.
Brittany File -- 1st in UAA and 2nd nationally with a school record 273 strikeouts ... No. 2 nationally in strikeouts per seven innings (10.9) ... Owns a 30-2 won-lost record with her victory total leading all D-III hurlers and a school season record … MVP of UAA Tournament ... 4x UAA Pitcher of the Week .. 1.24 ERA is 29th nationally ... Has fanned 10 or more batters on 11 occasions ... 7-inning no-hitter with 14 Ks vs. Huntingdon (feb. 13) ... Two complete-game wins vs. No. 2 Wash U in UAA Tournament, allowing just one earned run in 14 innings ... Two wins over Lake Forest, allowing no earned runs and striking out batters over 10 1/3 innings … Closed out the regular season by not allowing a run over 35 2/3 innings … Went all eight innings in a 5-1 decision over Lynchburg, allowing just three hits … Fanned 10 batters in a game vs. No. 2 Salisbury.
Cassie Baca – Leads the team and is third among UAA players in hitting (.442) ... 1st on squad and is 4th in the UAA in slugging pct. (.674) ... 13 multi-hit games ... 7 multi-RBI contests ... First career HR came against Rowan in a 9-1 win ... 2-for-4 and came through with a two-run double in an eventual 4-3 win vs. Lake Forest ... UAA All-Tournament Team after hitting .419 (13 of 32) over 10 games ... 2-for-3 with a solo homer vs. Case Western ... Combined 4-for-6 with 5 RBIs and 2 runs scored in doubleheader sweep vs. Roanoke ... 3-for-4 with 2-run double vs. Averett ... 3-for-3 vs. NYU in a 4-1 win … Is the program's first freshman to bring home first-team honors since 2011 when the trio of Megan Light, Lauren Gorodetsky and Lena Brottman accomplished that.
Alyssa Pollard - Tied for 1st on the team and fourth among UAA players with 55 hits ... 7th on the UAA ladder in hitting (.426) ... Tops the UAA with 50 runs scored, good for fifth place on the program's seasonal ladder ... Has produced a team-high 16 multi-hit contests ... Went a combined 5-7 with four runs scored and 4 RBIs in a doubleheader sweep of Lynchburg ... Stroked a 2-run double vs. Wash U in UAA Tourney ... 2nd in UAA with 15 stolen bases, tied for eighth on the Eagles' seasonal list ... 4 RBIs, including a 3-run homer, in 8-3 win over Southwestern ... UAA Hitter of the Week (Mar. 28) after hitting .556 (10 of 18) over 6 games ... 2 hits and scored three times in the first games of a doubleheader vs. Birmingham Southern … Combined 5-for-7 hitting performance and scored four runs in a sweep of a twinbill vs. Maryville College … Third time that she has been tabbed for All-UAA honors and her initial berth on the first team.
Melody Carter - 2nd in the UAA and 5th nationally with 55 RBIs ... Her RBI total is the sixth-highest seasonal mark in program history … Leads the squad and is 2nd in UAA in total bases (87) ... Third on the team and tied for fifth in the UAA with six home runs … 2nd on team in multi-hit (15) and multi-RBI (15) games ... UAA All-Tournament Team after hitting .400 (12 of 30) over 10 games ... Hit safely in nine UAA Tournament contests … GWRBI with a 2-run homer vs. No. 2 Wash U in a 3-1 victory ... 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs in win over Rowan ... 4 RBIs, included a 3-run homer vs. Brandeis ... 6-RBI contest vs. Rhodes (Apr. 17) featured the GWRBI with a 2-run double, followed later by a grand slam ... RBI triple scored team's first run and later crossed the plate with the GW score in a victory over No. 3 DePauw … Closed out the regular season with a six-game streak in hits, RBIs and runs scored.
Janelle Turnquest – Tied for first in the UAA and 29th nationally with nine home runs .. UAA-best 56 RBIs is 3rd nationally and 5th on Emory season list ... 17th nationally in RBIs per game (1.33) … Team-high 17 multi-RBI games ... UAA All-Tournament Team, hitting a team high .464 (13 of 28) and blasting a league-best six homers over 10 games ... 3-run homer in the bottom of the 6th that snapped a 1-1 tie, sparking a 6-1 win over No. 2 Wash U ... Hit a solo homer vs. Wash U in a 3-1 victory that clinched UAA title ... 2 hits and 3 RBIs, including solo HR, in win vs. Case Western ... Hit a two-run homer and recorded three RBIs in an 11-3 win over Averett … Two doubles and 5 RBIs in a 9-1 win vs. Pomona-Pitzer ... 2-run HR & 3 RBIs vs. Averett … GWRI with a three-run homer and chalked up 5 RBIs in 8-2 decision vs. Shorter University.
Taylor Forte – Fourth on the team and ninth in the UAA in hitting (.407) … Has scored 46 runs, good for second on the club and in the UAA … 15 doubles leads all UAA performers and ties for 10th on the Eagles' seasonal ladder … 4th on the team with 50 hits, with that total ninth among league performers … Has compiled 13 multi-hit games and has driven in two or more runs on seven occasions … UAA All-Tournament Team … Named UAA Player of the Week (Feb. 16) after hitting .692 (9 of 13) and knocking in seven runs in the opening four games of the year … 2-for-3 with one RBI in a 9-1 win vs. Rowan … Registered three hits, two doubles and a triple, and scored three runs in a 13-5 victory over Brandeis in the UAA Tournament finale.