Five Blazers Receive All-Conference Honors

Chris Kendrick (@CKendrick86)

ATTLEBORO, Mass. – Five members of the Elms College softball team were selected to the 2017 New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Softball All-Conference squads, in an announcement from the league office Monday. Sophomore Erin O'Donnell (Glenmont, N.Y.) was tabbed First Team All-NECC, while junior Elizabeth Olszewski (Canterbury, Conn.) and sophomore Catharine Wrang (Middletown, Conn.) were voted Second Team All-NECC. Senior Tessa Cote (Granby, Mass.) and freshman Katelyn Sylvia (Southwick, Mass.) received Third Team All-NECC honors.

O'Donnell lead the Blazers at the dish, posting a team-high .419 batting average, fifth-best in the NECC, en route to her first All-Conference accolade. O'Donnell drove in 29 runs on 31 hits, including eight doubles and a home run, and scored 15 times. O'Donnell ranked fourth in the NECC in on-base percentage (.494), seventh in runs batted in, and 12^th in doubles.

Olszewski nets consecutive Second Team honor after providing the power to the Blazers lineup, slugging a program-high eight home runs with 33 runs batted in, second-most in a season in program history. Olszewski batted .404 with a team-high 40 hits, including nine doubles, and a team-high 27 runs scored, while adding three stolen bases. Olszewski ranked fourth in the conference in slugging percentage (.737), fourth in home runs, fourth in total bases (73), sixth in RBIs, sixth in batting average, 11^th in doubles, and 12^th in hits.

Wrang collects her first All-Conference award after clubbing a career-high .344 from the plate while setting new career-highs in hits (32), runs batted in (12), and runs scored (23). Wrang added 40 putouts in the outfield with a .930 fielding percentage.

Cote led the Blazers in the pitching circle, registering an 8-13 record in a career-high 28 appearances to claim her first All-Conference designation. In her final season as a Blazer, Cote established new career-high in innings pitched (128.0), complete games (13), and strikeouts (68). Cote led the NECC in appearances, while ranking sixth in shutouts (2), seventh in strikeouts, tenth in earned run average (4.05).

In her rookie season, Sylvia led the Blazers with a team-high 11 doubles while batting .306 from the plate. Sylvia tallied 34 hits, second-most on the team, in a team-high 111 at-bats with 17 RBIs and 25 runs scored. Sylvia added a .978 fielding percentage with 168 putouts at first base, fifth-most in the NECC. Along with Third Team honors, Sylvia was the Blazers representative on the NECC All-Sportsmanship Team.

Softball

Player of the Year: Lauren Vallee, Bay Path

Pitcher of the Year: Madi McLellan, Regis College

Rookie of the Year: Arianna Gooden, Newbury College

Coach of the Year: Caitlin Benyi, Newbury College

All Conference First Team

1B – Jordan Raab, Lesley So., Rochester, N.H.)

2B – Courtney Goggin, Lesley (Jr., Cheshire, Conn.)

3B – Carlyn Barker, Lesley (Sr., Temecula, Calif.)

SS – Lauren Vallee, Bay Path (Jr., Bristol, Conn.)

C – Noelle Sass, Newbury (So., Randolph, Mass.)

P – Madi McLellan, Regis (Fr., Fremont, N.H.)

P – Sarah Bushman, Lesley (Fr., Fr., Aurora, Colo.)

OF – Mekenzi Golden, Lesley (Sr., Laguna Niguel, Calif.)

OF – Arianna Gooden, Newbury (Fr., Bakersfield, Calif.)

OF – Theresa Pereira, Lesley (Jr., Hopedale, Mass.)

DP – Erin O'Donnell, Elms (So., Glenmont, N.Y.)

All Conference Second Team

1B – Ashley Ciepiela, Becker (Sr., Adams, Mass.)

2B – Samantha DelConte, Mitchell (Jr., Enfiled, Conn.)

3B – Elizabeth Olszewski, Elms (Jr., Canterbury, Conn.)

SS – Brianna Napoleone, Regis (So., Medford, Mass.)

C – Ally Murphy, Lesley (Fr., Raynam, Mass.)

C – Alexa Nejaime, Regis (Jr., Sandisfield, Mass.)

P – Samantha Lee, Becker (Jr., Prospect, Conn.)

P – Alina Milauskas, Newbury (So., Elkridge, Md.)

OF – Allie Petillo, Regis (So., West Sayville, N .Y.)

OF – Naomi Ricciotti, Newbury (Sr., Phoenix, Ariz.)

OF – Catharine Wrang, Elms (So., Middletown, Conn.)

DP – Amanda Navarro, Regis (Jr., Stoneham, Mass.)

All Conference Third Team

1B – Katelyn Sylvia, Elms (Fr., Southwick, Mass.)

2B – Rebecca Carkhuff, Becker (Jr., Amherst, Mass.)

3B – Allison Caloggero, Regis (Sr., Medford, Mass.)

SS – Suzanne Vachon, Mitchell (So., East Hartford, Conn.)

P – Tessa Cote, Elms (Sr., Granby, Mass.)

P – Mallory Stefan, Newbury (Fr., Thornton, Colo.)

OF – Vasia Murphy, Becker (So., OF, Dracut, Mass.)

OF – Shea Wilson, Southern Vermont (Jr., Mesa, Ariz.)

OF – Jailinne Ruiz, Bay Path (So., Hadley, Mass.)

DP – Katie Walsh, Wheelock (So., East Islip, N.Y.)

All Sportsmanship Team

Marissa Sarna-McCarthy, Bay Path (So., 1B, Westhampton, Mass.)

Jennifer Boxell, Becker (Jr., OF, Malborough, Mass.)

Katie Banta, Daniel Webster (Fr., C, Oakdale, Conn.)

Katelyn Sylvia, Elms (Fr., 1B, Southwick, Mass.)

Allyson Nisbet, Lesley (Sr., INF/P, Clovis, Calif.)

Imani Mays, Mitchell (Sr., OF, Stratford, Conn.)

Naomi Ricciotti, Newbury (Sr., OF, Phoenix, Ariz.)

Brianna Napoleone, Regis (So., Medford, Mass.)

Taylor Jarosz, Southern Vermont (Fr., OF, Karaganda, Kazakhstan)

Samanth Leahon, Wheelock (So., OF, Castelton, N.Y.)

ELMS SOFTBALL