United States Coast Guard Academy - Department of Athletics - Softball

NEW LONDON, CONN.--(5/4/10)--Coast Guard sophomore pitcher Hayley Feindel, junior catcher Amanda Frederick and head coach Donna Koczajowski were named the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Pitcher, Player and Coach of the Year respectively as the Bears placed four players on the All-conference team in voting by the leagues nine head coaches.

The Bears, who are 30-8 on the season, won their second straight NEWMAC regular season championship before earning the programs first automatic bid to the NCAA tournament by winning its first NEWMAC tournament championship.

Feindel (28-8), who leads the NEWMAC with 28 wins, a 0.96 ERA and leads the nation with 331 strikeouts and 13 shutouts, earns Pitcher of the Year honors and first team All-conference honors for the second straight season.

Hayley Feindel was named NEWMAC Pitcher of the Year for the second straight season.

Frederick, the 2008 NEWMAC Rookie of the Year, earned first team honors for the third straight time and became the first player from Coast Guard to win NEWMAC Player of the Year honors.

The junior catcher leads the team with a .464 batting average, 15 doubles, 38 runs scored, 41 RBI’s, a .776 slugging percentage, a .478 on base percentage and she is second on the team and in the conference with eight home runs.

Koczajowski, who has led the team to a 69-15-1 mark over the past two seasons, won Coach of the Year honors for the first time. She also won her 300th game this season.

Senior centerfielder Carin Sweeney and sophomore first baseman Maddie Buchert were named to the second team, both earning All-conference honors for the first time.

Amanda Frederick became the first Coast Guard player to win NEWMAC Player of the Year honors.

Sweeney is hitting .358 with three doubles, three homers and 26 RBI’s and has not made an error all season with 28 putouts and five assists.

Buchert, who is hitting .339, is second on the team with 12 doubles to go with three homers and 21 RBI’s out of the leadoff spot.

Coast Guard will be making its second straight NCAA Tournament appearance. The Bears received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament last season, its first NCAA tournament appearance, and advanced to the New England region championship game and finished with a school record 39 wins and a 39-7-1 record.

The NCAA tournament field will be announced on Monday, May 10th.