Quintana named OAC Pitcher of the Year
Junior shortstop Carroll tabbed second team All-OAC

May 7, 2006
MARIETTA, Ohio — The Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) announced its softball special awards and All-OAC teams following the conclusion of the 2006 OAC Softball Tournament Saturday (May 6) evening. The league coaches’ ballots were tallied, and Marietta College junior ace Kristen Quintana (Denver, Colo./Littleton) was selected as the John Wells OAC Pitcher of the Year. In addition, junior Jenny Carroll (Lisbon/Beaver Local) was named second team All-OAC.

Marietta College (33-11), ranked No. 13 nationally, finished runners-up in this year’s Tournament, falling to No. 3 Muskingum 3-1 in the Championship Game. It was the second time the Pioneers took second place in the OAC Tournament. Marietta also claimed a second place finish in the inaugural OAC Tournament, which was held in 1985.

The Pioneers are now waiting to hear if they will receive an at-large bid to postseason play. The NCAA Regional selections are slated to be announced Sunday evening. Muskingum secured the OAC’s automatic bid by winning the OAC regular season and advancing to the Championship Game of the OAC Tournament.

Quintana (20-6) went 7-3 with a pair of saves and a 0.90 ERA in 15 OAC appearances this spring. In 85.6 innings, she also struck out an OAC-leading 97 batters. The first team All-OAC honoree earned second team All-OAC honors in 2005.

On the year, Quintana rewrote the Pioneers’ record book. She established new standards for appearances (34), games started (24), complete games (24), victories (20), innings pitched (189.6), shutouts (11) and strikeouts (214). Quintana, who held opponents to a .182 batting average, posted a 1.11 ERA with four saves. The three-time OAC Pitcher of the Week was named to the OAC All-Tournament team Saturday.

Carroll’s second team All-OAC honor was her first Conference award of her career. The shortstop batted a team-high .358 (19-for-53) with 12 runs scored and six RBI in 18 league games.

Overall, Carroll led the Pioneers with a .381 batting average. She also had a team-best 51 hits to go along with 24 runs scored, eight doubles and 24 RBI. Carroll, who had 15 multiple hit games, is one of three Pioneers to set a new school record for games played (44) in a season. The junior also had a school-best 13 game hit streak earlier this season.