America East Release

CAMBRIDGE, MASS. – UMBC freshman catcher Taylor Hall (Cosby, Va./Cosby) was named the America East Co-Rookie of the Year, sharing the award with Albany's Vicky McFarland, the conference office announced on Wednesday.  The rookie was also named to the All-Conference First Team and All-Rookie squad.

Joining Hall on the All-Conference First Team were sophomore third baseman Jessica Warner (Huntingtown, Md./Huntingtown) and senior utility player Katie Ferguson (North East, Md./North East/Cecil CC) while senior Angela Yannone (Pasadena, Md./Chesapeake) was named the Second Team as the designated player.

Taylor Hall

Hall's three awards come after leading the conference with 15 doubles and hitting seven homeruns in America East play, more than any other player in the conference.  For the year she was second for the Retrievers in batting average (.367), RBIs (27) and homeruns (8), trailing only Warner in each category.  Her totals in batting average, total bases (94), homeruns and doubles broke the school record for all freshmen in UMBC history. Hall was also spectacular behind the plate for the Retrievers as she registered a stellar .992 fielding percentage for the year as she was charged with just two errors in 252 chances.

After being named to the America East All-Rookie Team last year, Warner makes the jump to the conference First Team due in large part to her work at the plate.  The sophomore finished second in the league in batting average (.390), hits (60) and total bases (108) and third in doubles (13) and homeruns (11).  Her batting average and slugging percentage (.701) are the highest ever recorded by a sophomore in UMBC softball history. While her overall numbers were quite good, Warner's production in conference play was even better as she hit .446 (25-for-56) with ten extra-base hits against America East opponents.  She was also consistent in the field, putting up a .961 fielding percentage at the hot corner.

Jess Warner

A versatile athlete and a tri-captain for UMBC, Ferguson is the conference's First Team utility player for the second straight season. Primarily working in the pitcher's circle while in the field, the senior led the Retrievers in wins (8), ERA (3.24) and innings pitched (103.2).  In addition, her 87 strikeouts were more than any other pitcher on the staff and good for fifth in the conference.  At the plate, Ferguson recorded the fourth most hits (37) and scored the fifth most runs (15) for the Retrievers this season.

Yannone, also a tri-captain for the Retrievers, earned her first All-Conference recognition after matching her career-high with five homeruns and setting a new personal-best with a .975 fielding percentage.  This season she collected six multi-hit games including a 2-for-3 performance against Brown in which she slammed two homeruns en route to helping the Retrievers defeat the Bears, 7-1.

Albany's Charlise Castro was named the conference Player of the Year while Stony Brook's earned the Pitcher of the Year award.  Boston University's Shawn Rychcik once again was tabbed as the Coach of the Year, but shared the honor this season with Stony Brook's Megan Bryant.

Katie Ferguson

Angela Yannone