THREE GOLDEN EAGLES NAMED SOFTBALL ALL-CONFERENCE

Shannon’s first-team; Walker, Furnia second-team

            April Shannon’s second consecutive first-team All-Conference pitcher selection highlighted three Clarion University softball players named All-Conference PSAC-West in a vote by the league coaches released May 10. Second-team third baseman Ashley Walker and second-team outfielder Nicole Furnia joined Shannon on the all-conference teams.

            Shannon (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio/Cuyahoga Falls), a sophomore, had a stellar season for the Golden Eagles putting up a 1.80 ERA while going 9-12 with a save. In 155.2 innings of work, she allowed just 40 earned runs on 135 hits and 46 walks while striking out 170, which ranked second in the PSAC. Opponents hit a mere .233 off her.

Season highlights for Shannon included a no-hitter against Wilmington College March 9 and a one-hitter with a season-high 14 strikeouts against Edinboro April 9. She allowed three or fewer hits in a game five times and struck out at least 10 seven times.

In her two years at Clarion, Shannon, who was also the PSAC-West “Rookie of

the Year” last year, is 17-21 with one save and a 1.62 ERA. She has 335 strikeouts and just 102 walks in 286 innings of work.

            Walker (Chalfont/Central Bucks West), a sophomore, was the second leading hitter for the Golden Eagles this season at .282 (24-for-85). She had a team-high seven doubles while placing second on the team with eight RBI’s. Her on-base percentage was .365.

Top games this season included a 2-for-3 performance with two RBI’s against the Franciscan University March 12 and 2-for-3 with one RBI against both Peru College March 12 and IUP April 7. She was also 3-for-3 April 23 against Lock Haven.

In two seasons at Clarion, Walker has hit .275 with 10 doubles and 23 RBI’s.

            Furnia (Skaneateles, NY/Skaneateles), the lone senior on the team, was the leading hitter for Clarion in 2004 with a .296 batting average (29-98). She scored a team-high 12 runs while knocking in three.

            Top performances for Furnia in 2004 included a doubleheader against Wilmington College March 9 when she went a combined 5-for-8 with three runs scored, a 3-for-3 game with a run scored against IUP April 6 and a 2-for-3 with a run scored and two RBI’s versus the Franciscan University March 12.

In her four-year career, she hit .212 with two doubles and 13 RBI’s while scoring 21 runs.

            The Golden Eagles went 12-18 overall and 8-12 in the PSAC-West under second-year head coach Natalie Martin.

April Shannon

1st Team PSAC-West Pitcher

Ashley Walker

2nd Team PSAC-West 3B

Nicole Furnia

2nd Team PSAC-West OF