ANNVILLE, Pa. --- Former Moravian College softball standout Heather Bortz '05 has been selected as part of the fifth class to be inducted into the Middle Atlantic Conference Hall of Fame announced by the MAC office Tuesday.
"Heather was an outstanding player who was a four-year starter and leadoff batter, and being named to the MAC Hall of Fame is a tremendous honor," commented Head Coach John Byrne. "She was our first All-American and a three-time selection that set numerous school records both offensively and defensively as well as NCAA records including her hitting streak. Heather had an amazing career, and I'm excited to see her joining the MAC Hall of Fame."
The MAC of which Moravian was a member from 1945 until 2007 established a Hall of Fame as part of the celebration of its 100th anniversary in 2012-13. Moravian's Rocco Calvo and Harvey "Gil" Gillespie were two of a 36-member inaugural class selected in 2012-13 from current and former MAC member institutions while Kathy Beck DeKorte '92 was honored in 2013-14 and Doug Pollard was selected in 2014-15. All five Moravian MAC Hall of Fame selections are also members of Moravian's Athletic Hall of Fame.
Bortz, who was inducted Moravian's Hall of Fame in November 2015, was a four-year letterwinner on the softball squad. She was a four-year starter at shortstop and was the Greyhounds' first National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-American when she was named to the Second Team in 2003. Bortz would go on to be a three-time All-American earning a spot on the First Team in 2004 as the Hounds reached the National Championship game that year with a 40-6 record and also won the NFCA Leadoff Classic, and she earned a Second Team selection in 2005.
Bortz set or tied eight school records during her career and still holds four today including at-bats in a career with 567, hits in a season with 74, hits in a career with 253 and career batting average at .446. She was also the fastest player in school history to reach 100 career hits and the first to eclipse the 200-hit milestone. During the end of her sophomore season and into her junior year, Bortz had a 44-game hitting streak, which is still the collegiate softball record for all divisions of the NCAA. In 2003, Bortz was sixth in the nation in batting average, with an average of .496, and was also the 36th toughest in the nation to strikeout. In both 2004 and 2005 she was ranked in the top 100 in the nation for batting average.
In addition to her All-American accolades, Bortz was a four-time Commonwealth All-Conference First Team selection, a three-time Commonwealth Player of the Year, the 2002 Commonwealth Rookie of the Year, a three-time NFCA All-East Region First Team honoree, a 2002 NFCA All-East Region Second Team selection, a three-time ECAC Division III South Player of the Year and three-time ECAC Division III South First Team All-Star. Bortz was Lehigh Valley Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women Softball Most Outstanding Athlete in 2003, and she earned the LVAIAW Outstanding Moravian Athlete of the Year and Moravian's Senior Female Athlete of the Year honors in 2005. When the Middle Atlantic Conference celebrated its 100-year anniversary in 2012-13, Bortz was named to the MAC All-Century Team for softball.
In 2004, Bortz was elected to the College Sports Information Directors of America Academic All District First Team while also being featured in Sports Illustrated magazine's Faces in the Crowd for her hitting streak. In 2005, Bortz was named to ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA All-District First Team as well as ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All American First Team. She was a three-time selection to the MAC All-Academic Team.
Bortz currently resides in Allentown and teaches at South Mountain Middle School.
Moravian will be planning an on-campus ceremony to honor Bortz.
To view the entire 2016 induction class to the MAC Hall of Fame, visit http://www.gomacsports.com/news/2016/5/2/GEN_0502161556.aspx.
