University of Delaware Athletics
Softball Earns Five All-Conference Selections; Garber Earns Defensive Player of the Year
5/7/2024 4:00:00 PM | Softball
RICHMOND, Va. - The University of Delaware softball program saw seven players be named to All-Conference teams, with Julz Garber highlighting the honors as Defensive Player of the Year. Emily Winburn, Morgan Hess, and Julia Boyet were named as First-Team selections, while Garber and Sydney Shaffer earned Second-Team honors. Freshmen Gianna Costaro and Jenna Giattino earned All-Rookie honors. The five players on either the First and Second-Team tie a program record done in 2022.
Garber becomes the third Delaware player to ever be named CAA Defensive Player of the Year, with all three happening in the last three seasons. Garber also becomes the first outfielder in CAA history to win the award. Garber's sister, Hanna, was the first player in program history to receive the honor in 2022, and Kiara Mills won it last year. Garber patrolled center field for all 50 games this season, anchoring Delaware's defense up the middle without committing an error. Defensively, Delaware ranked second in the CAA in fielding percentage, and Garber's efforts helped lead to 12 shutouts. Delaware is the second school to receive Defensive Player of the Year award in three straight seasons, as James Madison did so from 2014-2016. Delaware is the first school to win it outright in three straight years.Â
Winburn earned her fourth CAA All-Conference honor and her third straight First-Team honor. She followed up her Pitcher of the Year season from 2023 even better in 2024, setting career-bests in ERA, wins, appearances, starts, strikeouts, complete games, and saves. For the season, she has a 1.54 ERA in 186 innings and 38 appearances and 29 starts. She is 21-6 with five saves, 153 hits allowed, 49 walks, 132 strikeouts, and has held opposing hitters to a .218 BAA. She ranks first in the CAA in complete games, game started, innings pitched, appearances, saves, second in ERA, wins, and shutouts, and fourth in strikeouts and hits allowed per seven. Nationally, she ranks fifth in games started, 10th in complete games, 11th in innings pitched, 14th in wins, 19th in shutouts and pitching appearances, 22nd in saves, and 27th in ERA. Winburn has been even better in CAA play, pitching to a 1.42 ERA with three shutouts in 108.2 innings. This season, she set the single-season records for wins and tied the single-season saves record in Delaware history, and set the career wins and saves record in program history. Her 38 appearances and 186 innings and seven shutouts are sixth most in a season, her 19 complete games are seventh most, and her 132 strikeouts are 10th most. She has a 1.18 ERA since March 3 and a 0.77 ERA since March 20. Winburn was a two-time CAA Pitcher of the Week, receiving the honor on March 25 and April 1.
Morgan Hess was named to the First-Team as Utility/Pitcher in her first season in the CAA and at Delaware after transferring from Presbyterian. Hess hit .300/.324/.538 with 19 runs scored, 14 doubles, a triple, five home runs, and 24 RBIs. In the circle, she pitched to a 2.27 ERA in 123.1 innings, 26 games, and 18 starts, going 14-5 with a save. She had six complete games, two shutouts, 66 strikeouts, and held hitters to a .227 batting average. On April 20 against Hofstra, she threw a no-hitter in a 1-0 win, then followed that up with a three-hit shutout the following day. Hess ranks fourth in the conference in doubles, fifth in wins, sixth in slugging percentage, seventh in ERA and BAA, ninth in shutouts, and 10th in home runs and innings pitched. From March 9-April 28, Hess appeared in 12 games and went 11-0, with Delaware winning all 12 games. On March 16, Hess hit two home runs and drove in five runs in game one of a doubleheader against N.C. A&T, then got the win on the mound by pitching five innings and allowing just three hits and striking out five during game two. She earned CAA Player of the Week on March 5 and Pitcher of the Week on April 22. Hess was a First-Team All-Big South selection in 2023 and Second-Team selection in 2022.
Boyet, also in her first season at Delaware after transferring from Duke, earned First-Team honors after hitting .336/.392/.521 while starting in all 50 games. Boyet recorded 29 runs scored, 49 hits, 8 doubles, a CAA-leading five triples, three home runs, 32 RBIs, 14 walks, and went a perfect 9-for-9 in stolen bases. Boyet has been on fire down the stretch for Delaware, as she has recorded a hit in 11 of her last 12 games and reached base in 12 straight games. Since April 9, she is hitting .426/.491/.638 in 16 games with 20 hits. On Feb. 24, Boyet hit a walk-off home run against Iowa State, helping Delaware complete a 6-1, seventh inning comeback and finish off a sweep of the Cyclones. She is third on the team with 14 multi-hit games and tied for the team lead in multi-RBI games with nine.Â
In addition to Defensive Player of the Year, Garber earned Second-Team honors for the third season in a row. Hitting leadoff for nearly the entirety of the season, Garber batted .347/.397/.429 with 59 hits, 40 runs scored, seven doubles, two triples, a home run, and has gone 16-for-17 in stolen base attempts. Garber has 19 multi-hit games on the season, and had a career-best 11-game hit streak March 16-March 29. Garber ranks second in the CAA in runs, third in hits, and seventh in stolen bases. Against Elon on April 7, Garber hit a go-ahead two-run home run to turn a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 fifth-inning lead, a game Delaware would eventually win 4-2. Garber is the fourth player in program history to score 40 runs in a season, and ranks fifth all-time in career steals with 44.Â
Shaffer earned her first All-Conference honor as Delaware's designated player and catcher. Shaffer hit .364/.474./564 in 50 games, starting in 49 of them, with 51 hits, 15 doubles, two triples, three home runs, 33 RBIs, and 28 walks. In the CAA, Shaffer ranks first in doubles and on base percentage, third in doubles and OPS, fifth in batting average and slugging percentage, seventh in RBIs and total bases, and 10th in hits. She has 15 multi-hit and nine multi-RBI games this season. On Feb. 17 against Akron, Shaffer drove in six runs, tied for the third most in a game in program history.
Costaro and Giattino became the first duo to earn All-Rookie honors since Delaware landed three on the team in 2021 (Winburn, Julz Garber, Lexi Moore). Costaro hit .270/.419/.500, leading the team in home runs with seven and RBIs with 39 while scoring 28 runs and recording eight doubles. Costaro ranked seventh in the CAA in OPS, fifth in home runs, fourth in RBIs, and seventh in walks. Her 38 RBIs are tied for eighth most in a season in program history. Costaro made an immediate impact early in the season for Delaware, hitting a home run against Gardner-Webb in her first career game, then hit four home runs in a six-game span from Feb. 16-24. Costaro hit two home runs in two games against Iowa State, and provided one of the highlights of the season when she hit a two-out, two-strike game-tying three-run home run against the Cyclones to help Delaware come from down 6-1 and win 7-6. Costaro also had a six RBI game against North Carolina A&T. Costaro earned CAA Player of the Week on Feb. 27 and was CAA Rookie of the Week on March 12 and 19.Â
Giattino hit .250/.419/.292 in 32 games for Delaware, drawing seven walks and scoring 12 runs. She recorded her first career multi-hit game on Feb. 17 against Middle Tennessee State and drove in two runs. She recorded two walks against Youngstown State on Feb. 11, and scored her first career run during the game while also stealing a base. Giattino also had a two-run pinch-hit RBI single against Towson on April 28.Â
Delaware set single-season records for wins with 38 and conference wins with 21, and tied their program record for longest winning streak at 13. They enter the CAA Conference Tournament as the No. 2 seed, and will play the winner of No. 3 Stony Brook and No. 6 Hofstra on Thursday.Â
FOLLOW ON SOCIAL
For the latest on Delaware softball, follow the Blue Hens on X, Instagram, and like on Facebook.
Garber becomes the third Delaware player to ever be named CAA Defensive Player of the Year, with all three happening in the last three seasons. Garber also becomes the first outfielder in CAA history to win the award. Garber's sister, Hanna, was the first player in program history to receive the honor in 2022, and Kiara Mills won it last year. Garber patrolled center field for all 50 games this season, anchoring Delaware's defense up the middle without committing an error. Defensively, Delaware ranked second in the CAA in fielding percentage, and Garber's efforts helped lead to 12 shutouts. Delaware is the second school to receive Defensive Player of the Year award in three straight seasons, as James Madison did so from 2014-2016. Delaware is the first school to win it outright in three straight years.Â
Winburn earned her fourth CAA All-Conference honor and her third straight First-Team honor. She followed up her Pitcher of the Year season from 2023 even better in 2024, setting career-bests in ERA, wins, appearances, starts, strikeouts, complete games, and saves. For the season, she has a 1.54 ERA in 186 innings and 38 appearances and 29 starts. She is 21-6 with five saves, 153 hits allowed, 49 walks, 132 strikeouts, and has held opposing hitters to a .218 BAA. She ranks first in the CAA in complete games, game started, innings pitched, appearances, saves, second in ERA, wins, and shutouts, and fourth in strikeouts and hits allowed per seven. Nationally, she ranks fifth in games started, 10th in complete games, 11th in innings pitched, 14th in wins, 19th in shutouts and pitching appearances, 22nd in saves, and 27th in ERA. Winburn has been even better in CAA play, pitching to a 1.42 ERA with three shutouts in 108.2 innings. This season, she set the single-season records for wins and tied the single-season saves record in Delaware history, and set the career wins and saves record in program history. Her 38 appearances and 186 innings and seven shutouts are sixth most in a season, her 19 complete games are seventh most, and her 132 strikeouts are 10th most. She has a 1.18 ERA since March 3 and a 0.77 ERA since March 20. Winburn was a two-time CAA Pitcher of the Week, receiving the honor on March 25 and April 1.
Morgan Hess was named to the First-Team as Utility/Pitcher in her first season in the CAA and at Delaware after transferring from Presbyterian. Hess hit .300/.324/.538 with 19 runs scored, 14 doubles, a triple, five home runs, and 24 RBIs. In the circle, she pitched to a 2.27 ERA in 123.1 innings, 26 games, and 18 starts, going 14-5 with a save. She had six complete games, two shutouts, 66 strikeouts, and held hitters to a .227 batting average. On April 20 against Hofstra, she threw a no-hitter in a 1-0 win, then followed that up with a three-hit shutout the following day. Hess ranks fourth in the conference in doubles, fifth in wins, sixth in slugging percentage, seventh in ERA and BAA, ninth in shutouts, and 10th in home runs and innings pitched. From March 9-April 28, Hess appeared in 12 games and went 11-0, with Delaware winning all 12 games. On March 16, Hess hit two home runs and drove in five runs in game one of a doubleheader against N.C. A&T, then got the win on the mound by pitching five innings and allowing just three hits and striking out five during game two. She earned CAA Player of the Week on March 5 and Pitcher of the Week on April 22. Hess was a First-Team All-Big South selection in 2023 and Second-Team selection in 2022.
Boyet, also in her first season at Delaware after transferring from Duke, earned First-Team honors after hitting .336/.392/.521 while starting in all 50 games. Boyet recorded 29 runs scored, 49 hits, 8 doubles, a CAA-leading five triples, three home runs, 32 RBIs, 14 walks, and went a perfect 9-for-9 in stolen bases. Boyet has been on fire down the stretch for Delaware, as she has recorded a hit in 11 of her last 12 games and reached base in 12 straight games. Since April 9, she is hitting .426/.491/.638 in 16 games with 20 hits. On Feb. 24, Boyet hit a walk-off home run against Iowa State, helping Delaware complete a 6-1, seventh inning comeback and finish off a sweep of the Cyclones. She is third on the team with 14 multi-hit games and tied for the team lead in multi-RBI games with nine.Â
In addition to Defensive Player of the Year, Garber earned Second-Team honors for the third season in a row. Hitting leadoff for nearly the entirety of the season, Garber batted .347/.397/.429 with 59 hits, 40 runs scored, seven doubles, two triples, a home run, and has gone 16-for-17 in stolen base attempts. Garber has 19 multi-hit games on the season, and had a career-best 11-game hit streak March 16-March 29. Garber ranks second in the CAA in runs, third in hits, and seventh in stolen bases. Against Elon on April 7, Garber hit a go-ahead two-run home run to turn a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 fifth-inning lead, a game Delaware would eventually win 4-2. Garber is the fourth player in program history to score 40 runs in a season, and ranks fifth all-time in career steals with 44.Â
Shaffer earned her first All-Conference honor as Delaware's designated player and catcher. Shaffer hit .364/.474./564 in 50 games, starting in 49 of them, with 51 hits, 15 doubles, two triples, three home runs, 33 RBIs, and 28 walks. In the CAA, Shaffer ranks first in doubles and on base percentage, third in doubles and OPS, fifth in batting average and slugging percentage, seventh in RBIs and total bases, and 10th in hits. She has 15 multi-hit and nine multi-RBI games this season. On Feb. 17 against Akron, Shaffer drove in six runs, tied for the third most in a game in program history.
Costaro and Giattino became the first duo to earn All-Rookie honors since Delaware landed three on the team in 2021 (Winburn, Julz Garber, Lexi Moore). Costaro hit .270/.419/.500, leading the team in home runs with seven and RBIs with 39 while scoring 28 runs and recording eight doubles. Costaro ranked seventh in the CAA in OPS, fifth in home runs, fourth in RBIs, and seventh in walks. Her 38 RBIs are tied for eighth most in a season in program history. Costaro made an immediate impact early in the season for Delaware, hitting a home run against Gardner-Webb in her first career game, then hit four home runs in a six-game span from Feb. 16-24. Costaro hit two home runs in two games against Iowa State, and provided one of the highlights of the season when she hit a two-out, two-strike game-tying three-run home run against the Cyclones to help Delaware come from down 6-1 and win 7-6. Costaro also had a six RBI game against North Carolina A&T. Costaro earned CAA Player of the Week on Feb. 27 and was CAA Rookie of the Week on March 12 and 19.Â
Giattino hit .250/.419/.292 in 32 games for Delaware, drawing seven walks and scoring 12 runs. She recorded her first career multi-hit game on Feb. 17 against Middle Tennessee State and drove in two runs. She recorded two walks against Youngstown State on Feb. 11, and scored her first career run during the game while also stealing a base. Giattino also had a two-run pinch-hit RBI single against Towson on April 28.Â
Delaware set single-season records for wins with 38 and conference wins with 21, and tied their program record for longest winning streak at 13. They enter the CAA Conference Tournament as the No. 2 seed, and will play the winner of No. 3 Stony Brook and No. 6 Hofstra on Thursday.Â
FOLLOW ON SOCIAL
For the latest on Delaware softball, follow the Blue Hens on X, Instagram, and like on Facebook.
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P/OF
/ Softball
UTL
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballHighlight: Softball 2024 Season Highlight
Monday, June 03
Highlight: Softball Senior Day - 5/5/24
Monday, May 06
Highlight: Softball vs. DSU - 4/10/24
Monday, April 15
Highlight: Softball vs. Drexel - 4/29/24
Saturday, March 30
