(Posted May 12, 2003)

Huntingdon, PA - After concluding their regular season with a school record 19 wins, the Juniata College softball team has been rewarded by having two players earn first-team All-Conference honors. Juniors Amber Helsel (Claysburg-Kimmel/Claysburg) and Becky Herr (Hamburg/Hamburg) have both earned their first All-Conference recognition.

Helsel enjoyed a break-out season at the plate for Juniata as she hit .435 for the season which bested her previous career high by more than 200 points. She led the Eagles in hits, runs, extra-base hits and slugging percentage. Her .783 slugging percentage was tops in the Commonwealth Conference as were her seven triples. Those seven triples were also a new Juniata single-season record. Helsel ranked fourth among conference players in batting average and was second in doubles and third in runs scored. Her 29 runs scored also set a new Juniata single season mark. She also added two home runs and 19 RBI, which were both second best on the team and new career highs. She hit safely in 22 of Juniata's 29 games and enjoyed an 11 game hitting streak at one point during the season. Helsel had at least two hits on 11 occasions during the season and had three or more hits six times. Along with her offense, Helsel committed only one error in 45 chances and threw out six base runners from her right field spot. She was honored once during the season as the Commonwealth Conference player of the week.

Herr's three home runs moved into first place in school history with seven for her career. She was tied for second in the conference in home runs this season, and was fourth on the Commonwealth charts in on-base percentage. She led Juniata in home runs and her 21 RBI set a new single-season Juniata record. She is only six RBI shy of holding the Juniata career record in that category. She hit .368 for the season and was particularly clutch with runners in scoring position as she hit .429 in those situations. Herr notched six games with two or more hits including 4-for-4 and 3-for-4 performances. She led the team with 81 defensive assists while recording a .947 fielding percentage at her shortstop spot. She piled up those offensive numbers while being walked a conference-high 17 times.
With Herr and Helsel leading the offensive assault Juniata outscored their opponents 134-69 during the season while out-hitting foes 221-170. Juniata will continue their season this week as they play in the program's first ECAC postseason tournament.

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Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.