Softball | 6/7/2016 11:23:00 AM

ROCHESTER, NY – The RIT softball team enjoyed a strong 2016 season, recording 17 wins while advancing to the Liberty League Postseason for the first time since joining the conference in 2012.
 
RIT put up a strong push in their first appearance in the Liberty League Tournament despite dropping a pair of tough, one-run games to eventual champion Rochester and number two seed Rensselaer. A record seven players and head coach Rebecca Stryker and her staff were honored by the Liberty League as the league doled out their 2016 end of the season awards.
 
Several Tigers enjoyed tremendous seasons in 2016. RIT's senior class led the way, as outfielder Amanda Cook (Royal Palm Beach, FL/Suncoast), third baseman McKenzie Martin (Deposit, NY/Deposit), and infielder Emily Shoemaker (Rochester, NY/Greece Athena) all received All-League honors.
 
Cook, RIT's center fielder, became RIT's first student-athlete in 16 years to be named a CoSIDA Academic All-America selection, earning second team honors. A 2016 All-Liberty League second team selection, Cook batted .386 with team-leading totals of 15 doubles (second most in one season at RIT), two triples, two home runs, 30 runs batted in (tied for ninth in one season) and a .634 slugging percentage in 33 games to go along with a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage.
 
She finished her RIT career with a .324 batting average, 102 hits, 28 doubles (ninth all-time at RIT), four homers, and 50 RBIs, while slugging .476. She walked 36 times, sixth most all-time at the university.
 
Martin, also a Liberty League second team pick, hit .326 with team-leading totals of 46 hits, 33 runs scored, and 12 walks to go along with 12 doubles and 11 runs batted in this season. She played in all 40 games at third base for the Tigers, making just three errors in 123 chances for a sparkling .976 fielding percentage. Martin was named to the 2016 CoSIDA Softball Academic All-District Team.
 
Shoemaker played in 27 games in 2016, serving as a designated player and second baseman. She hit a career-best .375 with 21 hits and 15 runs scored, while stealing three bases, earning All-Liberty League honorable mention accolades.
 
On the mound, junior Sierra Valentine (Rochester, NY/Greece Athena) and sophomore Lauren Mahar (Rotterdam, NY/Schalmont) provided a strong 1-2 punch for RIT. Valentine, who was named the Liberty League Pitcher of the Year, an All-Liberty League first team pick and National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Northeast Region third team selection, finished the season with 10 wins, a 3.20 earned run average, two shutouts, and a league best 138 strikeouts (sixth most in one season at RIT) in 135 2/3 innings pitched. Valentine was especially strong in league play recording a 2.44 earned run and 43 strikeouts in 43 innings, holding opponents to a .225 batting average.
 
Mahar recorded six wins, while striking out 84 batters in 110 2/3 innings, with a shutout. She also helped RIT clinch its first postseason berth with six shutout innings of relief as RIT rallied to defeat St. Lawrence in the regular season finale on April 30.
 
RIT's infield unit provided pop at the plate and steady defense. In addition to Martin, Danielle Hotz (Drexel Hill, PA/Upper Darby) emerged as RIT's starting second baseman in 2016, hitting .349 with a team-best three triples, tied for the RIT lead with a pair of home runs and drove in 17 runs in 35 games played. She was named the 2016 Liberty League Rookie of the Year and and was a first team selection. Hotz was also among the team leaders with 38 hits and 25 runs scored, while stealing four bases and recording a .955 fielding percentage.
 
Junior catcher/designated hitter Sam Killian (Webster, NY/Webster Schroeder), a catcher, was also a Liberty League first team selection, enjoying a breakout season at the plate for the Tigers, leading the team with a .402 batting average, while hitting a home run and driving in 25 runs. Killian added 10 doubles, slugged .536 and had a .448 on-base percentage. She drove in five runs on a pair of occasions, against Liberty League foe Union on April 10 and 18 days later at Medaille. In that same contest vs. Medaille, Killian became just the fourth player in program history and first in eight years to record five hits in a game.
 
Freshman Emily Lazarus (Whitehall, PA/Allentown Catholic) became RIT's primary catcher late in the season and provided strong defense. She chipped in offensively with 17 hits, including a 3-for-3 performance in the Liberty League Tournament against Rensselaer and was named to the All-Tournament Team.
 
Freshman Sarah Thayer (Tully, NY/Fabius-Pompey), an All-Liberty League honorable mention selection, served as RIT's starting shortstop, recording 23 hits and scoring 18 runs, while driving in 13 runs. She led the team with six stolen bases in six attempts and was second on the squad with 11 walks.
 
Sophomore Alexandria Lunderman (Manlius, NY/Fayetteville-Manlius) appeared in 29 games as RIT's first baseman, hitting .250 with 12 doubles and seven RBIs. Junior Emma Sarles (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park) also saw time at first base and provided some power with a pair of home runs and 10 RBIs, while slugging .478.
 
While Cook patrolled center field, junior Tori Blaker (Corning, NY/Corning-Painted Post West) was a consistent force in right field throughout the 2016 season, finishing third on the team with a .379 batting average, second with 44 hits and 12 doubles, while hitting a home run and driving in 18 runs in 37 games. A 2016 All-Liberty League second team selection, Blaker slugged .543, stole four bases this season and had a .953 fielding percentage.
 
Junior Alexa Farner (Gowanda, NY/Gownanda) started 27 games in left field before suffering a season-ending injury. She led the team with seven sacrifices and stole two bases. Sophomore Katelyn Koester (Amherst, NY/St. Mary's School for the Deaf), along with freshmen Laura Weintraub (Syosset, NY/Syosset), and Olivia Doret (Fairfax, VA/Chantilly) also saw time during the 2016 season and are poised for more success in 2017.
 
RIT also excelled in the classroom, as nine student-athletes were named to the Liberty League All-Academic Team.
 
Stryker and assistants Alyssa Serinis, Nicole Watson, and Mary Karen Wheat were named the Liberty League Coaching Staff of the Year in 2016. On April 28, Stryker recorded her 100th career win at the helm of the Tigers at Medaille. Stryker, who also played for RIT from 1999-2002, has 103 wins in seven seasons at the university. It is her first Liberty League Coach of the Year honor.