Ama Biney
  • management engineering
  • Class of 2018
  • Worcester, Massachusetts

Ama Biney of Worcester, Collects ECAC Division III New England Softball Laurels

2015 Jun 15

Ama Biney picked up ECAC Division III New England Softball honors following a vote by the region's head coaches.

Nina Murphy-Cook (Roseville, CA) was named the ECAC Division III New England Softball Rookie of the Year and earned first team honors while teammate Ama Biney (Worcester, MA) was voted to the second team.

Murphy-Cook, who recently became the first NFCA All-American in program history, as a third teamer, was also named the NEWMAC Rookie of the Year and All-Conference first teamer, Williamstown Regional Most Outstanding Player and an NFCA New England first teamer. Biney joined her teammate on the NFCA New England and All-NEWMAC first team.

Tufts, the Engineers Super Regional opponent and eventual national champion, took the other three major ECAC awards while it marked the second consecutive season the NEWMAC has produced the region's top rookie.

Murphy-Cook paced Division III with 57 stolen bases on 59 attempts and finished second in the category with 1.27 swipes per game. The Engineers leadoff hitter's total was second amongst student-athletes from all three NCAA divisions. Historically, the left fielder set the single-season NEWMAC record with her 56th stolen base against Tufts in the NCAA Division III Softball Championship Super Regional opener. She went on to finish her inaugural campaign tied for fourth all-time in Division III for steals in a single season (57).

Overall, the rookie paced the NEWMAC in plate appearances (170), hits (77), runs (60), and was second in batting average (.487) and on-base percentage (.512) to go along with 82 total bases (5th) while ranking fifth nationally in runs per game (1.33).

Biney, who finished tied for fourth in the nation in triples with nine, leads the NEWMAC in the category which has helped the rookie accumulate an eye-popping 107 total bases. The centerfielder appeared in the NEWMAC top 10 in RBI (2nd - 45), stolen bases (3rd - 23), runs scored (3rd - 49), on-base percentage (4th - .488), slugging percentage (5th - .733), batting average (6th - .445) and home runs (6th - five).

WPI (34-11), who was the NEWMAC Softball Championship runner up as the third seed, set the program and school record for team wins in a single season en route to its first-ever NCAA Division III Championship tournament berth as an at-large selection. The Engineers made the most of it by sweeping the Williamstown Regional before falling to No. 1 Tufts in the Super Regional to finish with a 3-2 record on the national stage.

About Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Founded in 1865 in Worcester, Mass., WPI is one of the nation's first engineering and technology universities. Its 14 academic departments offer more than 50 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science, engineering, technology, business, the social sciences, and the humanities and arts, leading to bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees. WPI's talented faculty work with students on interdisciplinary research that seeks solutions to important and socially relevant problems in fields as diverse as the life sciences and bioengineering, energy, information security, materials processing, and robotics. Students also have the opportunity to make a difference to communities and organizations around the world through the university's innovative Global Perspective Program. There are more than 40 WPI project centers throughout North America and Central America, Africa, Australia, Asia, and Europe.