Hennessy's brilliant run ends at Moravian
Ex-Patriot star owns all the pitching marks
BY TIM MORRIS
Staff Writer

Meagan Hennessy did for Moravian College what she did for Freehold Township High School softball - she raised the bar very high.

At Freehold Township, Hennessy's lights-out pitching brought the Patriots a Monmouth County championship, a Shore Conference A North Division title, a trip to the NJSIAA Central Jersey final and 26 consecutive wins her senior year.

At Moravian, the recently graduated Hennessy rewrote the record book as the Greyhounds qualified for the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament every year. In her sophomore season, the Greyhounds reached the national final.

Moravian won the Commonwealth Conference title in all four of her years, and she was the Pitcher of the Year every season. She shared the honor her freshman year in 2003, the same year she was the Rookie of the Year. This spring, she was the Commonwealth Conference Tournament Most Valuable Player for the second straight year.

Hennessy was 25-7 in 2006 with a 0.66 earned run average, 16 shutouts, five saves, two no-hitters and 267 strikeouts in 234 2/3 innings. She was the Commonwealth Conference Pitcher of the Week six times, and was also named the National Co-Player of the Week on May 4, after she went 5-0 with one save and four shutouts during the week.

Moravian went 37-9.

Moravian head coach John Byrne knew he was getting a big-time pitcher when he scouted her at Freehold Township, but admitted that she was even better than he anticipated.

"She certainly is one of those special kids that comes around once in a lifetime," said Byrne. "She really left her mark here. She was a multiple All-American and pitched in a national championship game. There's not much more you can do.

"I knew she was one of the best pitchers in Central Jersey and the state when we were recruiting her," he added. "She exceeded what we hoped for. She moved the program to the highest level in the country."

What Byrne had not been able to see while recruiting Hennessy was the competitive fire that burned within. He would discover that when she first took the mound for the Greyhounds.

"Her fierce competitiveness was her defining characteristic," he pointed out. "She wants to win and has the desire to win. She never gave in. She's all heart. You can't teach that."

Along with rewriting the Moravian record book, Hennessy, placed herself among the best pitchers in NCAA Division III history with the records to back it up. She ranks second all-time nationally in shutouts (53), fourth in the complete games (105), fifth in strikeouts (876), sixth in wins (92), sixth in innings pitches (819 2/3), 10th in games started (114), tied for 10th in games (129) and 14th in ERA (0.91). Her career record at Moravian was 92-24. She was named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division III East Region First Team for four years and was an NFCAA All-American the last two seasons.

"She's the consummate pitcher," said Byrne. "Disrupting the timing of the hitter is the key and she could change speeds. Her pitches had terrific movement and placement."

Hennessy was pretty good in the classroom too, being named to the 2006 "ESPN Magazine" Academic All-District II College Division First Team.