Faas honored by ECAC with Player of the Year honors; Kovage also honored

Posted: Jun 04, 2014

Centerville, MA--The Sage Colleges' senior co-captain Hillary Faas (East Greenbush, NY/Columbia) took top honors, as the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) announced its 2014 Division III Metro Softball All-Star teams and major award winners. Faas was voted the Player of the Year capping an outstanding athletic career. Voting was completed by the head coaches within the ECAC Division III Metro Softball membership.

Faas was also named to the ECAC First Team at short stop, while sophomore pitcher and designated player Katie Kovage (Hoosick Falls, NY/Hoosick Falls Central) was named to the Second Team.

In her final season in a Gators' uniform, Faas hit .465 with six home runs and a team-best 45 RBI. She finished the season ranked nationally in eight different categories including No. 44 in batting average (.465), while also ranking No. 19 in RBI's with 45 and a 1.22 RBI per game average. On the 2014 season, she led Sage with 45 RBI's and added six home runs, 20 extra-base hits and a .729 slugging percentage. She had a .514 on-base percentage as well in 37 starts at short stop, while boasting a .950 fielding percentage.

Twice named the Skyline Conference Player of the Week, she was also cited as the ECAC Metro Division III Player of the Week as well. She led the Gators in almost every offensive category and penned her name to numerous career marks along the way. She played and started 151 consecutive games, while breaking the career marks for most at-bats (498), most doubles (44), most home runs (20), most hits (193), and most RBI's (130). She stands No. 2 in career runs scored (122), while ranking No. 3 in walks (50), No. 11 in stolen bases (15), and No. 10 in career batting average (.388).

On the 2014 season, she helped Sage advance to the ECAC Division III Metro/Upstate Softball Championship for the third consecutive season, while finishing the year as the Skyline Conference Tournament runner-up after winning the league regular-season crown. Faas was also named the ECAC Division III Metro Player of the Week on April 15, a National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Atlantic Region Second Team selection and the Skyline Conference Player of the Year.

Kovage, who was also a 2014 Skyline Conference All-Star First Team honoree, finished her second season at Sage ranked in both pitching and hitting categories. She finished the season with a .382 batting average which was second on the team and added 38 RBI's to finish the year ranked No. 80 with her 1.03 RBI per game average. She added an 11-7 record in the circle with a 3.85 ERA in 94.2 innings of work. She ranked nationally as well with her 5.5 per game strikeout average and with her 11 wins on the season. She is currently No. 9 all-time in the Sage career pitching record book in appearances (43), while ranking No. 11 in innings pitched (196.1), No 13 in complete games (19), No. 5 in victories (21), and No. 5 in strikeouts (135). She owns a 2.92 career ERA in her two seasons with the program.