Liberty junior Julia DiMartino was named the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division I softball pitcher of the year Thursday.
The Brockport, New York, native became the first in program history to earn the honor. She is the second Liberty player to be named to the ECAC first team, joining Shannon Tanski from 1997.
DiMartino, a two-time Big South Conference pitcher of the year, went 29-8 and recorded six saves with a 1.72 ERA, 10 shutouts and 230 strikeouts, while holding opponents to a .198 batting average.
She was also named to the NFCA all-Mid-Atlantic Region first team this season.
TRACK & FIELD
Five Liberty athletes advance in East Prelims
In Tampa, Florida, five Liberty athletes advanced from the first round to the quarterfinals in the NCAA East Preliminary Round at USF Track & Field Stadium.
Alejandro Zapata and Bradley Prentice finished seventh in the men’s 400 and the men’s 800, respectively, while Kimone Green (women’s 400 hurdles), Colin Schultz (men’s 1,500) and Delaney McDowell (women’s 800) also advanced.
Liberty’s Azaria Kirwa missed qualifying for the national championship by finishing 13th in the men’s 10,000. He was nearly nine seconds behind Georgetown’s Michael Crozier.
Virginia Tech’s Peter Seufer (E.C. Glass) did not finish the event.
Liberty’s Noel Palmer (LCA) finished 18th in the women's 10,000.
AUTO RACING
Byron to honor former LU student in Coca-Cola 600
Liberty University online student and Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron will carry the name of Major Michael Donahue on his No. 24 Chevrolet during Sunday’s runner of the Coca-Cola 600.
It is part of NASCAR’s 600 Miles of Remembrance initiative as part of a special Memorial Day weekend tribute.
Donahue graduated from LU and was an assistant professor of military science for Liberty’s Army ROTC program from August 2008 to July 2010, during which time he completed his master’s degree in education and his Doctor of Education. Donahue served three combat tours of duty in the U.S. Army. On Sept. 16, 2014, Donahue was killed when a Taliban suicide bomber in Kabul, Afghanistan, drove a vehicle laced with explosives into a foreign military convoy on base.