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Messiah Collects Post-Season Awards, Honors
2008 award winners included (from top left to right): Senior Lana Trotter, freshman Rebekkah Funk, sophomore Lindsay Hall, sophomore Nicole Adams and junior Amy Bowie.
Grantham, PA — The Messiah College softball program was showered with various post-season awards and honors following another 20-win season, as five individuals earned recognition at either the conference or national level, the school announced Monday. Freshman shortstop Rebekkah Funk was named the MAC Commonwealth Co-Rookie of the Year while senior outfielder Lana Trotter was a Second Team Louisville Slugger/NFCA Regional All-American. Sophomore third baseman Lindsay Hall was a third team regional All-American, while three players — Funk, Trotter and sophomore Nicole Adams — earned First Team All-MAC Commonwealth honors. Hall was a member of the All-MAC Commonwealth Second Team, while junior catcher Amy Bowie rounded off Messiah’s list of award winners, being named an ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District II second-team selection. “We are extremely proud to have so many athletes represent us so well this year,” said Amy Weaver, Messiah head coach. “All of these girls are very deserving of the awards they’ve claimed.” Perhaps none fit that bill better than Trotter, as the senior capped her career by leading the team in batting average (.355), runs scored (32) and walks (27), equaling the top amount of home runs with six. Trotter produced 44 hits on the season — equaling the second-highest output on the team — slugging at a .565 clip while blasting eight doubles. The all-region honor was Trotter’s first as a collegian, while the all-conference award was her third (she was voted all-league as both a freshman and a sophomore). “Lana was the most solid player we had this year,” Weaver said. “Whether on the field or off, she was always working hard. She was always 100 percent present in all practices and games, always giving her best. She not only hit well with incredible stats and home runs, but she saved games for us on multiple occasions with incredible diving catches. She played most of the season with severe pain and a knee injury, but you would never have known it by the way she played on the field. She is our internal team MVP this year and deserves this recognition this season.” Hall was right behind Trotter in multiple aspects, batting .338 on the season while starting in all 43 games at third base. The sophomore knocked 44 hits and and recorded two doubles, scoring 11 runs as well. Equally as impressive was her play in the field, where she committed just four errors on the season en route to a .965 fielding percentage. “Lindsay came in as a freshman last year and wowed all of us with her defensive skills, but she struggled at the plate,” Weaver said. “This year she not only wowed us with her plays at third, but she also came through at bat. She really settled in and it was evident that she was much more comfortable offensively this year. Her defense is what gets her noticed by other teams and coaches, as she made several plays this year that we joked would on ESPN highlights that night. That is how good the plays she made were. Lindsay contributes to our team as a great encourager all the time, always trying to motivate teammates in a positive way.” One of those apparently taking cues from Hall was Funk, as the first-year shortstop earned league co-rookie of the year honors with Lebanon Valley College’s Laura Snyder. Like Hall, Funk started all of the Falcons’ 2008 contests, notching 40 hits while batting at a .310 clip. She led the team with 21 stolen bases in just 23 attempts. Funk had the difficult task of attempting to replace 2007 graduate Jess Deboer, who finished as both an all-region and all-conference selection in her final two years in uniform. “Bekkah was a great player right from the start, and she stepped right in and filled in a big hole at shortstop,” Weaver said. “She had some big shoes to fill, however she was not intimidated and just stepped right in and played the position with her own style. She was hot at bat mid-season and continued to hit well. Her biggest asset to this team was her incredible defense at shortstop, along with her speed. Once she was on base no one could stop her as evidenced by her stolen base stats. She was chosen co-rookie of the year not just for her stats, however, but for the determination and stamina that people could literally see as she was on the field.” Adams rounded off Messiah’s list of all-conference performers, being named to the Commonwealth’s First Team after putting up gaudy numbers: Her .354 batting average was just a shade off of Trotter’s team-leading clip, while her 46 hits, nine doubles, six home runs, 35 RBI and .592 slugging percentage were all tops on the team. Adams made just five errors in the field, registering a team-leading 275 put outs. “Nicole played solidly at first base for us this year, hitting her best during the middle of the season when she went on an absolute tear,” Weaver said. “She had a lot of power and was able to take the ball to right field a lot this year, keeping defenses and pitchers off kilter. I think Nicole will only continue to improve, as she has an unlimited amount of potential.” Rounding off Messiah’s list of award winners was Bowie, who followed two straight seasons of all-regional and all-conference accolades with her first academic all-district honor. An electrical engineering major, Bowie has maintained a perfect 4.0 grade point average while continuing to boast impressive numbers on the field, batting .336 with 42 hits and 29 RBI. She blasted five home runs, boasting a slugging percentage of .528. Bowie was one of 31 District II Academic All-District performers in the College Division, an award handed out jointly by ESPN The Magazine and COSIDA. “Amy is amazing in the classroom, and she is especially deserving of this award,” Weaver said. “She came on really strong late in the season for us, and could have very easily been selected all-conference or all-region again. I know she’ll appreciate this honor for different reasons, though, due to the pride she takes in her approach to her studies.” Messiah concluded the 2008 season with an overall record of 22-21, the program’s third straight season with 22 wins or more. This year’s honorees marked the third straight year that a Falcon was named to regional All-American status, while giving Weaver at least one all-conference selection in each of her 11 years as head coach. A complete list of the MAC All-Commonwealth teams and award winners appear below. To view the complete 2008 Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division III All-Region teams, click here. For complete listings for the 2008 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Teams, click here.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Mallory Meyer, Widener CO-ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Rebekkah Funk, Messiah; Laura Snyder, Lebanon Valley PITCHER OF THE YEAR: Laura Snyder, Lebanon Valley COACH OF THE YEAR: Stacey Hollinger, Lebanon Valley |
