University of Massachusets Athletics
Softball Wins 12 All-Atlantic 10 Season Awards
May 08, 2018 | Softball
Jena Cozza was named the A-10 Player of the Year while Kiara Oliver earned the A-10 Pitcher of the Year honor.
AMHERST, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts softball team earned three major Atlantic 10 awards as Head Coach Kristi Stefanoni was named the Coach of the Year while Jena Cozza and Kiara Oliver earned A-10 Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year honors respectively. The Minutewomen led the way with five first-team all-conference honorees and a second-team honor in addition to two all-rookie teamers.
Stefanoni was named the A-10 Coach of the Year after guiding the Minutewomen to an unbeaten season in league play, posting a perfect 21-0 record to tie the mark for most wins by a team in the history of the league. Stefanoni's squad secured their first regular-season title since 2012 with the first perfect season since the Minutewomen went unbeaten in the same series as long-time head coach Elaine Sortino won the Coach of the Year honors. As a team, UMass posted A-10-leading numbers in on-base percentage and team ERA.
Cozza (Wantagh, N.Y.) finished her senior season ranked in the top-three nationally in batting-average (2nd), on-base percentage (2nd), slugging percentage (3rd) and runs per game (2nd) on her way to winning the 15th Atlantic 10 Player of the Year Award in program history. The senior was also named A-10 First Team All-Conference after leading the league in six offensive categories while breaking the UMass single-season program records in slugging percentage, on-base percentage, runs scored and hit-by-pitches. Cozza finished the season on a 41-game reached base streak and will wrap up her career at UMass ranked in the top-three in program-history in five categories.
Oliver (North Kingstown, R.I.) picked up the first Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Year Award for the MInutewomen since 2012 and the 17th in program history as she finished her freshman campaign with a 17-3 record and a 1.74 ERA. The right-hander was also named to the A-10 First Team as she posted three games with 10 or more strikeouts and 13 games with seven or more as she led the league in strikeouts and strikeouts per seven innings. In league play, The A-10 All-Rookie Team honoree finished with a perfect 11-0 record and a 0.77 ERA with a .160 average against on her way to finishing the season ranked 10th in the UMass single-season record book in strikeouts per seven innings and 16th in total strikeouts.
Melissa Garcia (Chino, Calif.) earned First-Team All-Atlantic 10 honors after finishing league play with the second-most hits and second-highest slugging-percentage on the team to go along with a .423 batting average in A-10 competition. The first basemen recorded eight multi-hit performances in league games, including four games with three or more hits and two games with five hits. Garcia put together a streak of three-straight games without recording an out, going 10-of-10 with nine RBI during the span.
Kaitlyn Stavinoha (The Woodlands, Texas) joined the Atlantic 10 First-Team after batting .366 in league play while ranking third on the team in runs scored and fourth in slugging percentage and total bases. Stavinoha put together two separate seven-game hitting streaks, finishing the regular season ranked third on the team in total hits and total bases during her junior campaign. The shortstop helped UMass secure the A-10 Regular-Season Championship a few weeks ago against Fordham with a 3-of-4 showing at the plate and a RBI in a game two win over the Rams.
Erin Stacevicz (Cedar Grove, N.J.) rounded out the Atlantic 10 First-Team honorees after posting a .425 batting average in league play with a team-leading 31 hits. The center fielder finished the regular-season ranked second on the team in hits and runs scored while ranking third in total bases and fourth in on-base percentage. The junior put together 16 multi-hit performances, including six games with three or more hits while opening league play with hits in 15 straight games on her way to finishing A-10 play with hits in 20-of-21 league contests.
Kaycee Carbone (Hudson, N.H.) earned both Atlantic 10 Second-Team and All-Academic honors for the second consecutive season after ranking second on the team in RBI, total bases, slugging percentage and home runs. Carbone's 45 RBI on the season ranks fifth-most in a single season in program-history as she put together 13 multi-hit games. The junior biology major put together six straight games of two or more hits from mid-February to the beginning of March, hitting two home runs with seven RBI in a game against Notre Dame during the streak.
Amy Smith (Palm Harbor, Fla.) joined Oliver on the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie team after racking up a .500 on-base percentage in league play, reaching base safely in 15 of the 21 contests. UMass went 23-4 with Smith starting at second base and 13-2 with her in the sixth-spot as the freshman recorded multiple hits in four of her first seven A-10 starts. The second basemen posted hits in all three games in a sweep on the road at George Washington, capping off the series by going 3-of-3 with two runs scored and a RBI.
The Minutewomen (33-12 Overall, 21-0 Atlantic 10) will open up the Atlantic 10 Softball Championship on Thursday at noon in the Bronx, N.Y. against the winner of Wednesday's contest between No. 4 George Mason and No. 5 Saint Louis.
Atlantic 10 All-Conference Teams
For complete coverage of the UMass softball team, follow the Minutewomen on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @UMassSoftball and online at www.UMassAthletics.com.
Stefanoni was named the A-10 Coach of the Year after guiding the Minutewomen to an unbeaten season in league play, posting a perfect 21-0 record to tie the mark for most wins by a team in the history of the league. Stefanoni's squad secured their first regular-season title since 2012 with the first perfect season since the Minutewomen went unbeaten in the same series as long-time head coach Elaine Sortino won the Coach of the Year honors. As a team, UMass posted A-10-leading numbers in on-base percentage and team ERA.
Cozza (Wantagh, N.Y.) finished her senior season ranked in the top-three nationally in batting-average (2nd), on-base percentage (2nd), slugging percentage (3rd) and runs per game (2nd) on her way to winning the 15th Atlantic 10 Player of the Year Award in program history. The senior was also named A-10 First Team All-Conference after leading the league in six offensive categories while breaking the UMass single-season program records in slugging percentage, on-base percentage, runs scored and hit-by-pitches. Cozza finished the season on a 41-game reached base streak and will wrap up her career at UMass ranked in the top-three in program-history in five categories.
Oliver (North Kingstown, R.I.) picked up the first Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Year Award for the MInutewomen since 2012 and the 17th in program history as she finished her freshman campaign with a 17-3 record and a 1.74 ERA. The right-hander was also named to the A-10 First Team as she posted three games with 10 or more strikeouts and 13 games with seven or more as she led the league in strikeouts and strikeouts per seven innings. In league play, The A-10 All-Rookie Team honoree finished with a perfect 11-0 record and a 0.77 ERA with a .160 average against on her way to finishing the season ranked 10th in the UMass single-season record book in strikeouts per seven innings and 16th in total strikeouts.
Melissa Garcia (Chino, Calif.) earned First-Team All-Atlantic 10 honors after finishing league play with the second-most hits and second-highest slugging-percentage on the team to go along with a .423 batting average in A-10 competition. The first basemen recorded eight multi-hit performances in league games, including four games with three or more hits and two games with five hits. Garcia put together a streak of three-straight games without recording an out, going 10-of-10 with nine RBI during the span.
Kaitlyn Stavinoha (The Woodlands, Texas) joined the Atlantic 10 First-Team after batting .366 in league play while ranking third on the team in runs scored and fourth in slugging percentage and total bases. Stavinoha put together two separate seven-game hitting streaks, finishing the regular season ranked third on the team in total hits and total bases during her junior campaign. The shortstop helped UMass secure the A-10 Regular-Season Championship a few weeks ago against Fordham with a 3-of-4 showing at the plate and a RBI in a game two win over the Rams.
Erin Stacevicz (Cedar Grove, N.J.) rounded out the Atlantic 10 First-Team honorees after posting a .425 batting average in league play with a team-leading 31 hits. The center fielder finished the regular-season ranked second on the team in hits and runs scored while ranking third in total bases and fourth in on-base percentage. The junior put together 16 multi-hit performances, including six games with three or more hits while opening league play with hits in 15 straight games on her way to finishing A-10 play with hits in 20-of-21 league contests.
Kaycee Carbone (Hudson, N.H.) earned both Atlantic 10 Second-Team and All-Academic honors for the second consecutive season after ranking second on the team in RBI, total bases, slugging percentage and home runs. Carbone's 45 RBI on the season ranks fifth-most in a single season in program-history as she put together 13 multi-hit games. The junior biology major put together six straight games of two or more hits from mid-February to the beginning of March, hitting two home runs with seven RBI in a game against Notre Dame during the streak.
Amy Smith (Palm Harbor, Fla.) joined Oliver on the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie team after racking up a .500 on-base percentage in league play, reaching base safely in 15 of the 21 contests. UMass went 23-4 with Smith starting at second base and 13-2 with her in the sixth-spot as the freshman recorded multiple hits in four of her first seven A-10 starts. The second basemen posted hits in all three games in a sweep on the road at George Washington, capping off the series by going 3-of-3 with two runs scored and a RBI.
The Minutewomen (33-12 Overall, 21-0 Atlantic 10) will open up the Atlantic 10 Softball Championship on Thursday at noon in the Bronx, N.Y. against the winner of Wednesday's contest between No. 4 George Mason and No. 5 Saint Louis.
Atlantic 10 All-Conference Teams
For complete coverage of the UMass softball team, follow the Minutewomen on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @UMassSoftball and online at www.UMassAthletics.com.
Players Mentioned
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