June 7, 2006

LYNCHBURG, Va. - Virginia Tech's Angela Tincher has been named VaSID Pitcher of the Year and the Hokies' Jessica Everhart has been named the VaSID Rookie of the Year while Liberty's Jessica Moore has been named the VaSID Player of the Year and the Lady Flames' Paul Wetmore has been named the VaSID Coach of the Year to highlight this year's selections to the 2006 VaSID All-State University Division Softball team.

Tincher, from Eagle Rock, Va., adds another award to an already impressive sophomore season as the pitcher was named the ACC Pitcher and Player of the Year after posting a 26-9 record in the circle with a 1.01 ERA. The second-team All-American and second-team CoSIDA Academic All-American set a Virginia Tech and ACC record with 504 strikeouts and ranked second in the nation in the category (13.8 per seven innings), while ranking 13^th nationally in ERA and 23^rd in victories. This is her second all-state honor in as many years.

Everhart, from Purcellville, Va., was a second-team NFCA All-Northeast Region honoree this year in her first season with Virginia Tech, while also earning a spot on the All-ACC second team. She tied for the team lead with six home runs and a .343 batting average, while the rookie also added 27 runs scored, eight doubles, two triples, 24 RBI and a .517 slugging percentage.

In all, seven Hokies were honored by the association, with four making the first team. Joining Tincher and Everhart on the first team were senior Kelly Brown and junior Callie Rhodes. Brown, an outfielder from Dale City, Va., made her third all-state team after hitting .333 with 22 stolen bases. She became the school's all-time hits leader late in the season. Rhodes, a designated player from Broadway, Va., led the ACC and was among the national leaders in stolen with 34 in 38 attempts to earn her first all-state accolades. She hit .323 and led the Hokies with 63 hits, including the game-winner in the 12^th inning of Tech's 1-0 win over No. 19 Louisville in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Making the second team from Tech was a trio of freshmen: Charisse Mariconda (Hollywood, Fla.) at third base, Erin Ota (Irvine, Calif.) at second base and Beth Walker (Galax, Va.) at first base. Mariconda hit .297 with a team-leading 15 doubles. Ota finished the season batting .318 with 50 hits while Walker batted .271 with five home runs.

Wetmore guided Liberty to a 41-23 record this season, the most wins by a program in the Commonwealth this year. The 41 wins tied a school record for total wins in a year, while the Lady Flames' .641 winning percentage set a new school high. This marks the fourth time that Wetmore has been named VaSID Coach of the Year (1996, 1997, 1998 and 2006), tying him with Virginia Tech's Scot Thomas, who has also garnered the honor four times (1999, 2000, 2002 and 2005).

Moore had a record-setting year for Liberty as she hit 21 home runs on the year, surpassing her own school record, while she also added a new school record with 74 runs scored. The shortstop was the only player in the Big South Conference to be ranked in four national statistically categories as she ranked second in runs scored (1.17 per game), ninth in slugging percentage (0.813), 10^th in home runs (0.33 per game) and 44^th in batting average (.399).

In the first year the Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID) have named a first and second all-state team, Virginia Tech dominated the all-state selections as the Hokies had seven athletes named to the team, followed by Radford and Virginia, which both had four selections to the team. Liberty had three players named to the squad, while Longwood had two selections and Hampton and Norfolk State each had one player selected.

2006 VaSID All-State University Division Softball Team



 

VaSID All-State First Team

C     Ashley Williams - Liberty

1B    Allison Greene - Norfolk State

2B    Dawn Jeffs - Liberty

SS    Jessica Moore - Liberty

3B    Maggie Wolfe - Hampton

OF    Kelly Brown - Virginia Tech

OF    Jessica Everhart - Virginia Tech

OF    Caitlin Hooe - Longwood

DP    Callie Rhodes - Virginia Tech

P     Ashley Taylor - Radford

P     Angela Tincher - Virginia Tech




VaSID All-State Second Team

C     Amanda Walling - Radford

1B    Beth Walker - Virginia Tech

2B    Erin Ota - Virginia Tech

SS    Ryan Washington - Longwood

3B    Charisse Mariconda - Virginia Tech

OF    Lindsey Preuss - Virginia

OF    Anne Tatum - Radford

OF    Jessica Taylor - Virginia

DP    Amy McKean - Virginia

P     Bre Felix - Radford

P     Erin Horn - Virginia





Player of the Year

Jessica Moore - Liberty


 

Pitcher of the Year

Angela Tincher - Virginia Tech


 

Rookie of the Year

Jessica Everhart - Virginia Tech


 

Coach of the Year

Paul Wetmore - Liberty