Saint Joseph's Downs Temple To Advance To Atlantic 10 Softball Title Game

AMHERST, Mass. - Despite falling behind 3-0 early, Saint Joseph's rallied to take a lead in the fourth inning and got a stellar performance in the circle by freshman Liz Mendez as the Hawks topped Saint Louis, 4-3, at the Atlantic 10 Softball Championship Thursday afternoon at Sortino Field.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Finishing first in the Atlantic 10 regular season and earning a bye for this week’s conference postseason tournament, the Saint Joseph’s softball team was recognized for its stellar play as five Hawks earned A-10 honors, conference officials announced on Tuesday. The Hawks had four players named to All-Conference teams, highlighted by A-10 Pitcher of the Year Taryn Ashway (Waynesboro, Pa./Waynesboro Area), A-10 Rookie of the Year Sarah Yoos (Warrington, Pa./Archbishop Wood) and A-10 Coach of the Year Terri Adams.

Posting four players on A-10 All-Conference squads for the third straight year, Ashway and Yoos join senior Dana Parks (Vineland, N.J./Vineland) on the A-10 All-Conference First Team, while redshirt senior Monica Aguilar (Buena Park, Calif./John F. Kennedy) was selected to the A-10 All-Conference Second Team. Additionally, Parks was selected to the A-10 All-Academic Team for the third straight season, while Yoos becomes the sixth SJU player to be named to the A-10 All-Rookie Team.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - For the first time in program history, the Saint Joseph's softball team has claimed the Atlantic 10 regular season title. Sweeping their doubleheader at George Washington, 5-2 and 2-1, Sunday afternoon, SJU finished with the best record in the A-10 and a first round bye at this week's conference tournament.

Picked to finish fourth in the A-10 preseason poll, Saint Joseph's finished the regular season with a 17-5 record in conference. The Hawks will open postseason play Thursday at noon versus either fourth seed George Washington or fifth seed Dayton at Sortino Field at the University of Massachusetts.

GREENVILLE, N.C. - The Saint Joseph's softball team posted two wins on opening day Friday, downing St. John's and Georgetown in the first day of the Pirate Clash at East Carolina University. The Hawks earned a 4-1 win over the Red Storm to begin the day and finished with a 3-1 victory against Georgetown.

Led by a pair of wins from senior pitcher Taryn Ashway and a 3-for-6 day at the plate by outfielder Dana Parks, the Hawks were the lone team on the opening day of the tournament to wins both of them games.

PHILADELPHIA – The Saint Joseph’s softball team has added former Hawk standouts Brooke Darreff and Erin Gallagher to its coaching staff it was announced on Wednesday. Darreff rejoins her alma mater as an assistant coach, while Gallagher returns to the team as an undergraduate assistant.

A former standout catcher, Darreff comes back to Hawk Hill after spending last season as a graduate assistant at Temple. Wearing the Saint Joseph’s jersey from 2006 to 2010, she was named A-10 All-Conference three times, and was selected the 2008 A-10 Player of the Year. Helping the Hawks to three A-10 Tournament berths, she is one of just six players in program history to amass 100 hits and 100 RBIs. Darreff’s 17 career home runs are still tied for fifth in team history, while her .461 batting average from 2008 remains a program record. Upon graduation she received both the 2010 A-10 Sporting Award and the Saint Joseph’s Class of 1950 Award.

PHILADELPHIA - Capping a stellar season at second base, Saint Joseph's senior Bernadette Moran was named to the ECAC All-Star First Team, organization officials announced on Wednesday.

Starting all 52 games this season at second base, Moran earned Atlantic 10 All-Conference honors for the third year in a row, and First Team honors for the second consecutive season. Posting a career-best season this year, Moran led the Hawks with a .336 batting average, and set new career-highs in RBI (29), doubles (11), while setting a new single-season mark for hits with 51.

Saint Joseph's freshman catcher Lauren Rendon has been named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division I All-Northeast Region Second Team. The all-region teams were chosen by NFCA member coaches from each region, and all the honorees will now be eligible for selection to one of three 2012 NFCA Division I All-American teams.

Rendon earned Atlantic 10 All-Conference Second Team honors this season as well as a spot on the A-10 All-Rookie Team.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Making the first home run at the new SJU Softball Field a memorable, the Hawks' freshman catcher Lauren Rendon was recognized for her individual performance as she was named Atlantic 10 Co-Rookie of the Week, conference officials announced on Monday.

Leading Saint Joseph's to an Atlantic 10 sweep of La Salle on Sunday, Rendon delivered the decisive blow in the Hawks' 4-1 victory in extra innings. With the game tied at 1-1 in the eighth, Rendon drilled the first home run at the Hawks' new field, plating three on the swing to earn SJU a 4-1victory. She followed that with a 2-for-3 performance with a RBI and two runs scored in an 11-1 win in game two against the Explorers.