Junior outfielder Ashley Lane (Westbury, NY/W.T. Clarke - pictured) was named the Colonial Athletic Association Softball Player of the Year in a vote of the league's coaches it was announced this evening at the CAA Awards Banquet.

Lane was one of a league-high five Hofstra players named first-team All-CAA. She was joined by senior third baseman Tara Ulrich (West Nyack, NY), the first four-time All-CAA player in conference history, senior shortstop Laura Sweeney (Hopewell Junction, NY/John Jay), sophomore designated player Courtney Oliver (Swansea, MA/Coyle and Cassidy), and freshman pitcher Kayleigh Lotti (South Attleboro, MA/St. Raphael's (RI) Academy).

Sophomore center fielder Pam Dreslinski (Kingsville, OH/Edgewood) was named to the All-CAA Second Team, while Lotti and freshman catcher Carolann Lubach (Langley, WA/South Whidbey) were named to the All-Rookie team.

Lane is currently hitting .370 with 12 home runs and 50 runs batted in to lead the Pride in all three categories. Her 50 RBI led the CAA by seven and are three shy of the school record held by former All-American Crystal Boyd. She has also became Hofstra's all-time career home run leader with 30, during only her junior season (the old record was 24). In conference games, she hit .369 with six home runs and a league-high 22 RBI.

Lane's honor now gives the Pride back-to-back CAA Player of the Year honors. Senior second baseman Lisa Wambold (Hatboro, PA/Hatboro-Horsham) also earned the honor last season. Prior to Wambold's honor, the only previous conference player of the year award that Hofstra had earned was an America East Player of the Year Award earned in 2001 by Lisa Ciavardini, a current assistant coach with the Pride.

Ulrich was named first-team All-CAA for the third time in her career (2003, 2005, 2006) and also earned second-team honors in 2004. She ended the regular season with a .308 batting average, 11 home runs and 40 RBI. Her 11 homers give her 28 in her career, placing her second behind Lane in Hofstra history. In addition, she has also been tremendous defensively at third base, committing only three errors in 200 chances for a .985 fielding percentage, while leading the CAA in assists with 134.

Sweeney earned All-CAA honors for the first time in her career, after ending the regular season with a .321 batting average and 13 stolen bases. She was particularly effective in conference games, batting .347 and committing only two errors. She is currently in third place on the Pride's career stolen base list with 45.

Oliver batted .265 on the season with three home runs and 27 runs batted in. Two of her three homers came in conference games, including a home win over Towson and a road win over UNC Wilmington. She also served as the Pride's second pitcher, tallying a 13-7 record and a 2.05 earned run average.

Lotti finished her freshman season with a 15-7 record and a 2.09 earned run average. She was particularly strong down the stretch, recording an 0.98 ERA over the last month (14 starts). She struck out 148 batters in 150.2 innings, while walking only 43.

Hofstra ended the regular season with a 33-17 record, including 14-6 in the CAA. The Pride finished one-half game behind Georgia State (15-6) for first place, marking the first time that Hofstra has ended the regular season out of first since joining the CAA in 2002. The Pride will be the second seed in this weekend's CAA Tournament, as it tries to win its ninth conference tournament title in a row. In addition to four CAA titles, the Pride won its final four conference tournaments in the America East from 1998-2001. 

2006 ALL-CAA SOFTBALL TEAM

FIRST TEAM

Pos. Player, School Pos. Cl.
C - Jackie Jaegle, Georgia State, Fr.
1B - Ali Gardner, UNC Wilmington, Fr.
1B - Meghan McCoy, Georgia State, Sr.
2B - Allison Borchers, Delaware, So.
3B - Tara Ulrich, Hofstra, Sr.
SS - Laura Sweeney, Hofstra, Sr.
OF - Jamie Cagle, Georgia State, Sr.
OF - Ashley Lane, Hofstra, Jr.
OF - Nina Navarro, Towson, So.
UT - Ashlee Veilleux, Drexel, Fr.
DP - Courtney Oliver, Hofstra, So.
P - Elizabeth Hyman, Georgia State, Sr. 
P - Kayleigh Lotti, Hofstra, Fr.

SECOND TEAM
Pos., Player, School Cl. 
C - Carley Hughes, UNC Wilmington, Fr.
C - Julia Dominguez, James Madison, Fr.
1B - Emily Gould, Towson, Fr. 
2B - Hayley House, UNC Wilmington, Sr.
3B - Krista Searle, UNC Wilmington, Jr.
SS - Nichole Griffin, Georgia State, Fr.
OF - Meghan Murray, UNC Wilmington, So.
OF - Pam Dreslinski, Hofstra, So.
OF - Whitney Knudsen, UNC Wilmington, So.
UT - Jen Hastings, Towson, Jr. 
DP - Amanda Hastings, Drexel, So. 
P - Jennifer Bosley, UNC Wilmington, Sr. 
P  -Jessica Fisher, Towson, So. 

2006 CAA Player of the Year: Ashley Lane, Hofstra
2006 CAA Pitcher of the Year: Elizabeth Hyman, Georgia State
2006 CAA Rookie of the Year: Jackie Jaegle, Georgia State
2006 CAA Coach of the Year: Bob Heck, Georgia State