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Kutztown's Ashley Fitzgerald and Lock Haven's Amanda Roose have been selected as the 2008 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Eastern and Western Division Softball Players of the Year, respectively.  They join Pitchers of the Year Ashley Lynn of Bloomsburg (East) and Kristin Erb of Lock Haven (West) as those receiving top honors in the current season.

Bloomsburg's Lacy Mauro and IUP's Erin Holloway each garnered Rookie of the Year distinctions for their respective divisions.  Chosen by their peers as Coaches of the Year were West Chester's Diane Lokey and Lock Haven's Kelley Green.

Fitzgerald, a junior from Kitchener, Ontario, is the second straight Kutztown athlete to earn the Eastern Division's Player of the Year award following Steph Denlinger a year ago.  The utility player is hitting a league-best .435, collecting 74 hits (2nd - PSAC) in 170 trips to the plate.  A force within a potent Golden Bear lineup, Fitzgerald has scored 34 runs while leading the league in doubles (23), total bases (142), slugging percentage (.835 - 13th NCAA II) and on-base percentage (.500).  Her 15 homeruns rank second only to Denlinger and her 55 RBI rank third among the league's leaders.  Including this year's selection, Fitzgerald is a two-time All-PSAC East First Team honoree.

Roosa, a junior from Pompton Lakes, N.J. (Pompton Lakes HS), has started all 49 games behind the plate for the Lady Eagles.  She has compiled a .366 batting average (8th - PSAC), gathering 56 hits in 153 at-bats, and has driven in a league-best 57 RBI.  A powerful hitter in the heart of Lock Haven's lineup, Roosa's 13 homeruns ranks fourth in the league while her slugging percentage (.686) ranks fifth and on-base percentage ranks 10th (.424).  Defensively, the catcher is just as solid, having made only one error all season for a .997 fielding percentage.  Roosa anchors a pitching staff that boasts the nation's best ERA at 0.36.  Including this year, Roosa is a three-time All-PSAC West First Team selection.

Lynn, a senior who hails from Riverside (Danville HS), owns a 0.86 ERA (2nd - PSAC) in 186.1 innings pitched (5th - PSAC) for the Huskies.  She has posted a 23-3 record through 31 appearances, starting 25 games and completing 21 of those contests.  A dominant force inside the circle for Bloomsburg, opponents are batting .198 against the right-hander who has struck out 195 batters (4th - PSAC) and walked just 16.  She also owns a league-best four saves on the season.  Including this year, Lynn has earned All-PSAC Eastern Division honors three times in her career.  She was a second-team selection in 2006, followed by back-to-back first team accolades. 

Erb, a junior from Reading, continues her record-breaking career at Lock Haven as she earns her third straight Western Division Pitcher of the Year Award and hopes to lead the Lady Eagles back to the national championship game for the third straight year.  She becomes just the second player in PSAC history to win three consecutive postseason honors after Bloomsburg's Erica Miller was awarded the East Athlete of the Year in 1999, 2000 and 2001.  Lock Haven's work horse in the circle, Erb has compiled a 0.24 ERA (1st - NCAA II) in 287.1 innings pitched.  She owns a 37-6 record through 44 appearances, starting 39 games while completing 36 contests.  Her 347 strikeouts rank fourth all-time in PSAC single season history while needing just 181 strikeouts to become the league's career leader.  The junior set the NCAA Division II consecutive scoreless innings pitched record at 86.2, breaking the old mark of 83.7 set by Shippensburg's Kelley Tiesi.  She also has thrown three perfect games this season, two of which came against divisional opponents Clarion and Edinboro while her third came at the hands of Bloomsburg in the conference tournament.  Also at the conference tournament, Erb was named the championship's MVP for the third consecutive year.  Including this year's All-PSAC West First Team selection, Erb is a three-time honoree, the 2006 Western Division Rookie of the Year and the 2006 Honda Award Winner, recognizing the top female athlete in Division II. 

Mauro, who hails from Jersey Shore (Jersey Shore HS), enters the 2008 NCAA II Mid-Atlantic Regional tournament with a .373 batting average that ranks second on the Bloomsburg squad and sixth overall in the PSAC.  Her 56 hits rank ninth in the league and her 12 doubles rank eighth.  The rookie outfielder also ranks second on her team in RBI (25) and runs scored (28).  Defensively,  she has recorded just one error with 44 put outs and eight assists.  In addition to this postseason honor, Mauro was just one of two freshmen in the Eastern Division to receive a first-team nod.

Holloway, a rookie from Harleysville (Souderton HS), finished the 2008 campaign with a 2.32 ERA and a 10-12 record in 154 innings pitched.  She started 22 games for the Crimson Hawks and finished 16 of those contests while contributing five shutouts.  A highlight of the 2008 season for Holloway came against Clarion, where the freshman tossed a one-hitter and tied the PSAC single-game record for strikeouts as she fanned 18 Golden Eagle batters.  That total is also tied for the second-most in Division II.  Holloway and the Crimson Hawks were also the only PSAC team to defeat Lock Haven, with Holloway outdueling Erb in a 1-0, 10 inning win in which she gave up seven hits, struck out 13 and issued only one walk.  The rookie was also named to the Western Division First Team, joining teammate Kristen Tunno as the only other freshman on the squad, while becoming IUP's first Rookie of the Year honoree since Becky Lewis in 2004.

Lokey earns her first Eastern Division honor after directing this year's squad to its first ever postseason berth and a school record for wins.  The Golden Rams notched a 31-20 overall mark, 10-14 PSAC East and received the No. 5 seed in this week's NCAA II Mid-Atlantic Regional.   Lokey's 2008 edition also featured a school record 16-game winning streak while junior left-hander Shannon Padula become the school's first 20-game winner (23-11).  Also of note for the fifth-year head coach, two of the program's four 20-win seasons have come under Lokey's direction as she owns a 103-127-1 career record at West Chester.

Green captures her fourth straight and fifth overall Western Division honor in her nine seasons at Lock Haven. The Lady Eagles captured the PSAC title for the third consecutive season and are making their fifth straight NCAA regional tournament appearance this weekend.   Her team earned its third straight PSAC West title with a 19-1 mark, the only blemish a 1-0, 10 inning setback to IUP.  Green is the winningest coach in Lock Haven history with a current record of 289-126 as the Lady Eagles enter the Mid-Atlantic regional as the No. 1 seed.