For Immediate Release April 27, 1999
Layman Named ODAC Player of the Year
Bayse Wins Coach of the Year for Second Year in a Row
SALEM, Va.--Roanoke College’s Amy Layman (Salem, VA/Glenvar) has been named the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Player of the Year for the second consecutive season. Also for the second year in a row, Roanoke head coach Alan Bayse has been named the league’s Coach of the Year. The duo is the first pair two win the two awards in back to back years. Layman, a sophomore, becomes just the second player in conference history to win the award at least twice, while Bayse is just the second coach in the conference’s history to win the Coach of the Year award at least twice. Layman has been a force both at the plate and in the circle for the Maroons this season. Currently third on the team in batting (.399), she has set single-season school records in runs scored (54), stolen bases (24), and is currently tied for most doubles in one season (12). She is second on the club in hits (55), and also has driven in 24 baserunners this year.
As a pitcher, Layman has recorded a school-standard 18 victories this season, breaking the old mark of 13 which was set just last season. In 113 innings of action, Layman has allowed just 14 earned runs for a minuscule 0.87 earned run average. Opponents are batting just .170 against Layman and have struck out 69 times. Her seven shutouts are the most on the squad this year and are the most in school-history. Layman, who was named a First Team All-Conference pitcher for her play this year, recorded a win and a save in the circle this past weekend, helping Roanoke to its first ever ODAC championship. For her play in the two-day tournament, she was named the Most Valuable Player.
Leading Roanoke to a school-record 34 wins this season, its first conference title, and the school’s (not to mention the league’s) first ever bid to the NCAA tournament, Alan Bayse was honored as the league’s Coach of the Year for the second season in a row. The 34 wins RC has amassed this year, far surpasses the old school mark of 25 wins in a year, set in 1998. The team set a school-record by winning 13 consecutive games this year.
The Maroons have outscored their opponents, 311-88, this year and have notched 13 shutouts. The team’s .370 batting average is also well ahead of the .302 average that is currently the school-standard. Among several other categories, the Maroons have school-records in the following departments this year: runs scored (311), hits (414), doubles (72), triples (10), homeruns (26), and RBIs (276).
Joining Layman on the ODAC’s All-Conference team are six of her teammates. Kelly Gouldthorpe (Madison Heights, VA/Amherst County) was selected as a First Team secondbaseman, at thirdbase Roanoke junior Kari Whitney (Roanoke, VA/Cave Spring) was selected as a First Team All-Conference player, as was Holly Morris (Barrington, RI/Barrington), who made the First Team as a catcher. Other Maroons on the ODAC’s First Team All-Conference squad are outfielder Crystal Hileman (St. Paul, VA/St. Paul) and Marcie Poff (Vinton, VA/William Byrd), who was named to the team as a utility player. Sophomore Suzanne Maddox (Amherst, VA/Amherst), who has won 12 games and struck out a team-best 86 batters this year, was named to the Second Team as pitcher.
The Maroons are currently 34-7 on the year and will be playing in the NCAA Atlantic Regionals which are set to begin on May 14th. Three of the teams seven losses have come to Division II schools. The site, and Roanoke’s opponent in the national postseason, have not yet been determined. RC will carry a six-game winning streak into the tournament.