PSAC Release
 
KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Brianna Knipe (Bethlehem, PA/Liberty) continues to enjoy the Kutztown University softball team's award-winning and championship season as she was named the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division Athlete of the Year Thursday morning. She is one of seven Golden Bears to be named to the all-conference team including an infield made up solely of Kutztown players.
 
Along with Knipe earning All-PSAC East honors at shortstop, junior first baseman Colleen Smith (Islip Terrace, N.Y./East Islip (Hofstra)), junior second baseman Morgan Booth (Stroudsburg, PA/Stroudsburg), senior third baseman Nicole Henninger (Reading, PA./Muhlenberg), and senior catcher Katie Lynch (Willow Street, PA/Lampeter-Strasburg) were All-PSAC selections in the infield. Junior outfielder Jackie Hetzler (Sewell, NJ/Washington Township) and senior outfielder Maria Isgro (Galloway, NJ/Absegami) were Kutztown's outfield selections to the all-conference team.
 
Kutztown's seven selections were the most of any school throughout the three divisions in the PSAC. KU has had the Eastern Athlete of the Year in five of the last seven seasons dating back to the 2007 season.
 
Knipe is batting a career-high .371 this season and has started in all 50 games. Her 53 hits are a career-best as she has nine doubles and 29 RBI. One of her greatest accomplishments of her career occurred last weekend when she hit a walk-off home run to earn Kutztown its first PSAC Championship in school history. She is a two-time All-PSAC selection.
 
She was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player for her championship-winning blast. She batted .429 through Kutztown's four games with two home runs and six hits. For her career, Knipe is eighth in Kutztown history with 220 games played and is 10th will 100 RBI.
 
Smith, a junior transfer from Hofstra, has excelled in her first year with the Golden Bears. A threat to hit a home run in each at-bat, Smith has 13 homers this season while leading the team with a .401 batting average. She's driven in 48 RBI for third in the PSAC, and has forced opposing pitchers to pitch around her with a PSAC-leading 37 walks that rates third in Kutztown history for a single-season.
 
Booth is batting a career-high .354 in her junior season and has played the majority of the regular season at second base before moving to right field for the postseason. A first-time all-conference honoree, she has a team-high 58 hits that are tied for third in the PSAC. She's walked 14 times and when reaching base, has been successful in 20-of-24 steal attempts. For her career, she is fourth in KU history with 71 steals.
 
Henninger is batting .329 in her senior season and is a three-time All-PSAC selection. Along with a team-leading 11 doubles, she's belted seven home runs, four of which came in the PSAC tournament. She's driven in 37 RBI for second on the team and is slugging .552. For her career, Henninger is fourth in school history with 33 career home runs.
 
Lynch has been one of the vocal leaders on this year's team and is a three-time All-PSAC player as well as the 2010 Eastern Freshman of the Year. She's batting .301 and has started in 48 of Kutztown's 50 games. She's hit seven homers this year including a stretch of hitting three in a five-game span including the playoffs. Lynch set a single-season school-record this season, however, it is one that Lynch might want to trade for another. She has been hit by 13 pitches this season, breaking Hetzler's record of 10 last season.
 
Hetzler, a two-time All-PSAC selection, has played in all 50 games and is batting .294 for the Golden Bears. She's hit eight doubles and two home runs while swiping 11 bags. She has 47 hits and nine sacrifice hits. She's scored 24 runs and is a threat anytime she reaches base.
 
Isgro is Kutztown's fourth senior and earns the first all-conference honor of her career. She's batting .315 with three homers including one in the PSAC Championship game. She has started in all 50 games and is tied with Knipe for eighth all-time with 220 career games played. Isgro holds a perfect fielding percentage this season and has scored 47 runs.
 
Kutztown will play West Virginia State University in the first round of the NCAA Atlantic Regional Tournament hosted by Shippensburg University on Friday, May 10 at 12 p.m.