Two From Softball Earn All-Conference Honors
MARSHFIELD, Mass. – Two members of the Mitchell College softball team were named to New England Collegiate Conference all-conference teams on Tuesday morning, as announced by the league in its release of annual awards.
Senior Suzanne Vachon was named to the second team as the designated player while freshman Alex Lopez was selected as the catcher on the third team. All awards were determined by a vote of the conference's head coaches.
Vachon, who was also an all-conference selection in 2017, batted a team-high .473 with nine RBI and 15 runs scored in 16 NECC games. She hit safely in 13 of those contests and ranked among the league leaders in hits (26), triples (1), runs, batting average and total bases (30).
In her final season with the Mariners, Vachon played in 33 games and hit .436 with 25 RBI and a team-high 32 runs scored. Her 48 hits—which included eight doubles and a pair of triples—were also the most on the team. In addition to her offensive contributions she pitched 91.1 innings and sported an overall record of 6-9 with 37 strikeouts.
Lopez also played in all 16 conference games and batted .326 with nine RBI and eight runs scored. She finished with three doubles and a home run in NECC action and didn't make an error behind the plate.
Lopez saw action in 32 games in her rookie campaign and finished with a team-high .437 batting average. She also led the Mariners in RBI (29), doubles (11), homers (3), on-base percentage (.468) and slugging (.667).
Senior transfer Paige Aguilar rounded out Mitchell's award recipients by being named to the Del Malloy Sportsmanship Team. She played in 29 games and hit .219 with five RBI and 19 runs scored in her first season with the Mariners.
Mitchell finished the season with an overall record of 11-22 and went 4-12 in NECC play.
2019 NECC Softball All-Conference Awards
NECC Player of the Year – Lauren Clements, Eastern Nazarene (Sr., C, Garrison, Texas)
NECC Pitcher of the Year – Elisabeth Schaffer, Eastern Nazarene (Jr., P, Benton, Pa.)
NECC Rookie of the Year – Daelyn Ross, New England College (Fr., 1B, Freeport, N.Y.)
NECC Coach of the Year – Dani Bishop, Eastern Nazarene
All-Conference First Team
P – Elisabeth Schaffer, Eastern Nazarene
P – Taylor Barbour, New England College
C – Lauren Clements, Eastern Nazarene
1B – Daelyn Ross, New England College
2B – Chanel Welch, New England College
3B – Riley Pickett, Lesley
SS – Sarah Ellis, Becker
OF – Vasia Murphy, Becker
OF – Kori Bow, Eastern Nazarene
OF – Alexa Scribner, New England College
DP – Jordan Day, Lesley
All-Conference Second Team
P – Samantha Belenchia, Becker
P – Jordan Day, Lesley
C – Ally Murphy, Lesley
1B – Katelyn Sylvia, Elms
2B – Mahlia Medina, Lesley
3B – Alexis Vieira, Newbury College
SS – Madison Messier, Elms
OF – Catharine Wrang, Elms
OF – Arianna Gooden, Newbury College
OF – Averi Johnson, Newbury College
DP – Suzanne Vachon, Mitchell
All-Conference Third Team
P – Lisa Lusardi, Elms
P – Jen Thorburn, Lesley
C – Alex Lopez, Mitchell
1B – Kiley Ozaki, Eastern Nazarene
2B – Alyssa Columb, Becker
3B – Lauren Niemann, Becker
SS – Ashleigh Acker, Lesley
OF – Shawnie Clark, New England Col.
OF – Miranda Seacord, Dean
OF – Kayla Doherty, Elms
DP – Caroline Mahoney, Newbury College
2019 Del Malloy Sportsmanship Team
Emily Farone, New England College
Kara Haga, Lesley
Madison Goodhart, Bay Path
Samantha Buzgo, Becker
Bridget McDonough, Dean
Kelly Donahue, Eastern Nazarene
Toni Borg, Southern Vermont
Shelby Brouillette, Elms
Paige Aguilar, Mitchell
Madison Elliott, Newbury