From Emory University Athletics
Five members of the No. 16-ranked Emory University softball
squad have been selected to the 2014 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 two players on the
All-UAA First Team and three on the second team. Senior first
baseman Megan Light (Atlanta) headlined the Eagles'
first-team honorees by being named the conference's Most Valuable
Player for the second straight year and third time in her career.
It is the seventh time and fourth straight season that an
Emory player has been chosen as the UAA MVP. The other
first-team nod went to sophomore third baseman Hannah
Sendel (Greenwood Village, CO).
The senior trio of second baseman Claire
Bailey (Henrico, VA), pitcher Amanda Kardys (Union,
NJ) and outfielder Ally Kersthold (San Luis Obispo, CA)
rounded out the honorees with spots on the second team.
Light, a starter in 41 of the team's 43 contests, has been a key
cog in a high-powered offensive attack that leads the conference
and ranks 18th nationally with a .363 hitting mark,
and that has produced a school season record of 40 home runs.
Light paces the league and stands 36th among all D-III performers
in hitting with a .480 average with 61 hits (first in the UAA) in
127 plate appearances. Her 16 home runs leads all of Division
III and ranks as a school record for most round trippers in a
campaign. She has tied the school season record with 61 RBIs
and her 1.49 per-game average in that category is good for the No.
3 position nationally. Her astounding 1.008 slugging
percentage currently stands as Emory's all-time season mark and
places her third nationally. In addition, she sits atop the
league in runs (50), on-base percentage (.556), walks (24) and
total bases (128). Light has delivered team highs in both
multi-hit (20) and multi-RBI (18) games this season. She now
joins former Eagle standout Melissa Roberts (2000-03) as the only
players in program history to have been selected to the All-UAA
First Team on four occasions, and she is the only player in program
history to be named the UAA's MVP on three occasions.
Sendel has enjoyed an outstanding season, with her potent bat adding more firepower to the lineup. A started in all 43 games, her .394 effort (52-of-132) at the plate places her 10th on the UAA ladder, while her 12 homers, .818 slugging percentage and 55 RBIs are second. She has totaled a conference-best tying 20 two-base hits and is one shy of tying the school seasonal mark in that category. Her 12 round trippers are good for a tie for second place on the Eagles' seasonal ladder. Sendel's 1.28 per-game average in RBIs is 16th among all D-III players, and she claims 16 contests of driving in two or more runs while chalking up 18 multi-hit outings. Earlier in the season, she was one of two Emory players to be tabbed to the UAA All-Tournament Team after helping the Eagles to a co-championship by hitting .360 (9-for-25) and driving in a league-best 15 runs. In addition, she was named by the NFCA as the D-III Player of the Week on March 12 after hitting .923 (12-of-13) with three homers and 12 RBIs in helping Emory to a 4-0 stretch.
Kersthold, who with Sendel are the only players to have drawn
starting assignments in all 43 contests, has been solid both at the
plate and in the field. Her .343 hitting mark (47-of-137) is
her second-highest showing during her four-year career and has seen
her deliver 12 multi-hit efforts, fourth most on the
squad. Her 47 hits place her third on the team and she
has socked a conference-high tying 20 doubles, just one shy of
tying the school seasonal record. She is third on the team
and fourth among UAA players with 41 runs scored and has crossed
the plate two or more times in nine contests. She was named
the UAA Player of the Week (Feb. 17) after compiling a hitting
effort of .667 with a team-high eight RBIs in helping Emory to a
pair of victories over both Greensboro and Eastern Mennonite.
It is the second time that Kersthold has been chosen to the All-UAA
Team, having earned a first-team berth in 2013.
A mainstay and durable member of the pitching staff, Kardys has
produced a 24-1 won-lost record with the victory total setting the
pace in the league, ranking second in the D-III ranks and placing
second on the school's seasonal chart. Kardys leads all UAA
hurlers with 37 appearances and has tossed a league-high 167 1/3
innings. She has an ERA of 2.64 and has fanned 82 opposing
batters. Her seven shutouts are tops in the conference and
slot her 14th nationally. She was solid
down the homestretch of the regular season, posting an ERA of 1.13
over her final her eight outings that saw her threw 37
innings. It is the second consecutive year that Kardys has
landed All-UAA acclaim, as she earned a first-team spot in
2013.
Bailey, a starter in 42 games, ranks 12th on the
UAA ladder in hitting with an effort of .387 (46-of-119). She
is second on the team and third in the league with 43 runs scored
and third in walks (22) and tied for fourth in on-base percentage
(.500). She has amassed 15 multi-hit games, tying for second on the
team in that department, and has driven in two or more runs on four
occasions. She has scored two or more runs in 10 contests
including the second game of a doubleheader vs. Virginia Wesleyan
(Mar. 20) where she crossed the plate three times while going
3-for-3 at the plate in a 16-6 victory.