ERIE, Pa. – Five members of the Penn State Behrend softball team have been named to the All-Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) team, announced on Tuesday.
Along with the five athletes, head coach Stacy Pondo was awarded the AMCC Softball Coach of the Year. Pondo led the Lions to their fifth AMCC Championship. She also led Behrend to the AMCC regular season title. Pondo has guided the team to a 26-13 record and a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
Ashley Gruber (Burton, OH/Birkshire), Amy Greene (Erie, PA/Strong Vincent), Samantha Grismore (Westfield, NY/Westfield Academy & Central), and Julie Heinl (Pittsburgh, PA/North Allegheny) were all awarded First-Team All-AMCC accolades.
Gruber led the Lions all season. The senior led Behrend in batting average (.442), hits (53), doubles (16), home runs (9), and RBIs (50). In the AMCC title game, Gruber hit a walk-off home run to win the game. In addition to being named to the first team, Gruber was honored as the AMCC Co-Player of the Year along with Mt. Aloysius sophomore Jalisa Westover.
Greene had a tremendous senior season as well. She hit .398 with 13 doubles, two triples, and six home runs, and 37 RBIs. Both seniors broke the school record for career doubles this season.
Grismore rounded out the Lions' position players on the first team. The sophomore outfielder hit .356 with seven doubles, three triples, and one home run. She drove in 16 runs and had an on base percentage of .436.
Heinl was one of two pitchers selected to the first team. She posted a 17-6 record in the circle with 68 strikeouts in 143.1 innings of work. Heinl had an ERA of 3.96 with an opponent's batting average of just .276. She was the only pitcher to go undefeated in the AMCC with a 14-0 conference mark.
Leah Griffin (Springboro, PA/Conneaut Valley) was the final Behrend player recognized. Griffin was named Third-Team All-Conference after having a successful rookie season. Griffin hit .329 with four doubles and 14 RBIs.
The Lions will be back on the diamond Thursday at 4 p.m. Behrend will take on Ohio Northern in the NCAA Tournament in Alma, Michigan.
