(Posted April 26, 2004)

Huntingdon, Pa. - Sophomore Renae Hobbs (Mount Union/Mount Union) a pitcher for the Juniata College softball team, and Jayme Fye (Phillipsburg/Phillipsburg) a pitcher for the Eagle baseball team have been named the Juniata College "athletes of the month" for March.

After an outstanding freshman season, Hobbs picked up right where she left off winning her first five starts of the new season. Through the first five games of the year show had a 5-0 record with an earned run average of 1.09. She finished the month with a record of 6-1 and an ERA of 1.22. Among her starts was a no-hitter she tossed against Mount Aloysius in which she fanned 10 batters. She struck out 27 hitters for the month and did not allow more than two runs in any of her seven starts. She also added six hits, three RBI and three runs scored during March.

For the season Hobbs leads Juniata with a 10-3 record and has an ERA of 1.57. Her ten wins ranks her third in the Commonwealth Conference. She has allowed just 22 runs, 20 of the earned, in 89 innings of work this season. She leads the team in wins, innings pitched, strikeouts and opponents batting average against. For the season, opponents are hitting just .237 of the Eagle right hander and she has Juniata's only shutout of the season. She has allowed more than two runs in just three of her 13 starts. She also ranks third among the starters with a .309 batting average, and is fourth on the team with 17 hits. Hobbs' 11 RBI rank her third on the team, and she has added 11 runs scored for the offense.

Through 24 games this season, the softball team boasted a 16-8 record overall, and a 6-6 mark in the Commonwealth Conference. With two conference games remaining on the schedule, Juniata is in position to earn a return trip to the conference postseason.

Fye posted a 3-0 record during the month of March, with all three of his wins coming in conference outings. Threw 27 innings in the month, allowing just five earned runs which was good for a 1.88 ERA. He tossed complete-game victories over conference foes Messiah and Elizabethtown by holding each team to three runs in the game. He also earned a save against Elizabethtown, coming on in relief to retire the final two batters and preserve a one-run victory. He fanned 11 batters during the month, and did not allow more than three earned runs in any of his starts. Opponents hit just .284 against him for the month. He was named the Commonwealth Conference pitcher of the week after earning the complete-game win over Messiah.

Through Juniata's first 23 games, Fye has a record of 3-2, with his three wins leading the team. He has 23 strikeouts in 35 and a third innings of work. He leads the team in innings pitched and ranks third among the starters with an ERA of 5.60. He holds a 3-1 record in conference games and boasts a 4.05 ERA against conference opponents.

With Fye performing on the mound, Juniata holds a 14-11 mark through 25 games while the Eagles are 7-5 in Commonwealth Conference action. Juniata will play 11 conference games over the next week and a half, that will likely determine the team's postseason fate.

The Juniata College "Athlete of the Month" award is sponsored by McDonald's of Huntingdon and Mount Union. Barb and John Eastman, who own and operate the local McDonald's restaurants, provide the winners with plaques.

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