DANBURY, Conn. --- Moravian College juniors catcher Janae Matos and pitcher Josie Novak and senior first baseman Abby Jeffries have been selected to the 2017 ECAC Division III Metro All-Star First Team while senior outfielder Julie Siragusa earned a spot on the All-Star Honorable Mention Squad. Matos was also honored as the ECAC Division III Metro Player of the Year while Novak was named the Pitcher of the Year.
Moravian recorded a 36-6 overall mark this spring under the direction of 24-year Head Coach John Byrne, who now has a career mark of 786-234. The Greyhounds were 11-1 in the Landmark Conference regular season as the program participated the postseason for the 23rd consecutive year.
Matos, who was selected as the 2017 Landmark Conference Player of the Year and named to the Landmark All-Conference First Team for a second straight spring and the National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Atlantic Region First Team, paced the Greyhounds at the plate with a .523 average that included 56 hits, 23 runs, a school-record 22 doubles, three home runs, 45 RBIs, 24 walks including four intentional base on balls, a .621 on-base percentage and an .813 slugging percentage. Matos had a team-high 203 putouts behind the plate to go with 13 assists. Matos became the 44th member of Moravian's 100-hit club in April.
Novak, who was the 2017 Landmark Conference Pitcher of the Year for a season straight spring and the 2015 Landmark Conference Rookie of the Year, is the ECAC Pitcher of the Year for a second consecutive season. She also earned a spot on the NFCA All-Atlantic Region Team for the second consecutive year after being on the Third Team in 2016, and Novak is also a three-time member of the Landmark All-Conference First Team. This season, Novak recorded an 18-3 mark, and she posted a 0.77 ERA, the fifth-best season in school history, two saves, 13 shutouts, the third most in a single season at Moravian, 20 walks and a conference-leading 144 strikeouts in 135.2 innings in the circle. Novak now has a career total of 474 strikeouts, the third player in school history to reach 400 career strikeouts, and her 56 career victories are fifth in the Moravian record books.
Jeffries earned Landmark All-Conference First Team honors for the first time in her career after missing the end of the 2016 season and the entire 2014 season with an injury. Jeffries hit .429 this spring with 54 hits, 21 runs, nine doubles, a triple, five home runs, 36 RBIs, a .467 on-base percentage and a .635 slugging percentage. Jeffries also had 160 putouts and five assists this spring.
Siragusa, who was an ECAC Division III South All-Star Second Team All-Star last season and named to the Landmark All-Conference First Team for the second straight spring, hit .355 with 50 hits, 28 runs, 11 doubles, two triples, two homers, 21 RBIs, 14 walks, a .413 on-base percentage and a .504 slugging percentage in 2017. She had 155 hits to ranked 13th in school history, and Siragusa finished her career fourth all-time at Moravian with 42 doubles.
To view the entire list of ECAC Division III Metro All-Stars, visit http://ecacsports.com/news/2017/5/17/moravian-and-college-of-staten-island-headline-diii-metro-softball-major-awards-and-all-star-selections.aspx?elinkdata=145883.
