Keeny tabbed East Athlete of the Year, Bailey Freshman of the Year, as KU has six earn All-PSAC honors

Senior Sara Keeny of Warminster, Pa., was recognized as the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East Athlete of the Year and freshman Bridget Bailey of Norwood, Pa., was named Freshman of the Year, and the Kutztown University softball team was well-represented on the postseason accolades list with six student-athletes earning All-PSAC East honors, as voted on by league coaches Monday.

Keeny is Kutztown's first Athlete of the Year since the 2013 season, and Bailey brings home KU's first Freshman of the Year since Keeny won the award in 2016.

Joining Keeny and Bailey, seniors Tamara Jennings of Philadelphia, and Cheyenne Jones of Levittown, Pa., along with sophomore Jenna Lipowski of Nanticoke, Pa., and freshman Katelyn Ostaszewski of Philadelphia, made the distinctive list. The six members are the most for the program since the 2013 season when seven made it.

Keeny left her mark on the program, etching her name in several record books and top-10 marks. She is KU's all-time career hits leader with 289, tied for the most triples with 14, second in career batting average at .440 and ranks second in both program and PSAC history with 134 stolen bases. The 289 hits is third-most in PSAC lore and the most since Bloomsburg's Erica Miller finished with 310 from 1998-2001. Keeny played in 190 career games, starting every one. It is her fourth All-PSAC recognition in as many years.

The Warminster native finished the season ranked atop the PSAC in batting average (.518), on-base percentage (.561), hits (100), runs scored (62) and triples (7). Her 100 hits was the most by a KU player in a single season and ranks third in the PSAC all-time. Keeny was also second in the conference in stolen bases (45), third in doubles (15) and sixth in both slugging percentage (.684) and walks (23). She also posted a career-high 29 RBI and ended the season on a 12-game hit streak.

In her first season on the collegiate level, Bailey stepped in admirably and became Kutztown's ace of the pitching staff. She went 18-8 with a 2.60 ERA and 181 strikeouts in 178.0 innings. The 181 Ks is sixth-most by a KU pitcher in a season. Bailey also had three saves, tied for the most in a season in program history, and made 41 appearances this year.

Bailey ranked second in the PSAC in wins, strikeouts and innings pitched, and was 10th in ERA. She also has a hit to her name, going 1-for-5 at the plate. Bailey was a two-time PSAC Pitcher of the Week this season.

Jennings received her first postseason honor after having a career year. She finished second behind Keeny in the PSAC in hits (72) and runs scored (50) and was also second with 51 RBI. Jennings had a .416 batting average and a .647 slugging percentage, both ninth-best in the conference, while her 14 stolen bases was eighth. She also set a new program record with eight sacrifice flies.

The Philadelphia native concluded her career with 179 hits, 109 runs, 92 RBI and 37 doubles. She started in 169-of-178 games played in her four years.

Jones is now a two-time All-PSAC performer. She posted career-high numbers in hits (61), RBI (47), runs (22), batting average (.353) and slugging percentage (.561), starting 54-of-55 games this season. Her 47 RBI ranks fifth in the PSAC.

The Levittown native finished her career in Maroon and Gold with 125 hits, 87 RBI, 51 runs and 15 home runs, batting .320.

Lipowski enjoyed a breakout sophomore campaign starting all 56 games, primarily at first base. She finished in the top-five in the PSAC in hits (65), RBI (50) and doubles (15). Lipowski also batted a career-high .369 and hit five home runs, while also posting a .551 slugging percentage. In the field, Lipowski ranked second with a .996 fielding percentage at first.

The Nanticoke native will return for her junior season next year approaching a couple of milestones. Lipowski is 11 hits shy of 100 with 89 and also has 60 RBI. She is batting .340 for her career.

Ostaszewski broke out in her first season in Maroon and Gold. She started in 48-of-55 games her freshman season at shortstop and finished with 60 hits, 42 runs and 25 RBI, while batting .370. Her 42 runs ranked fifth in the PSAC and the 60 hits is 10th. Ostaszewski recorded a .438 slugging percentage and stole 12 bases. At short, she boasted a .918 fielding percentage.

The Philadelphia native surged in the last half of the season. She also earned PSAC Athlete of the Week honors following the last week of the regular season.

The Golden Bears finished their season with a 36-20 overall record, the ninth-most wins in program history. They went 3-2 in the PSAC Tournament, defeating Edinboro, Bloomsburg and West Chester, and finished third.

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