2006 Softball All-Conference Teams Announced
Tufts' Lopez Honored as
Player of the Year
HADLEY, Mass. - Tufts sophomore
second baseman Danielle Lopez has been named the 2006 NESCAC Player
of the Year, as determined by the conference coaches. Lopez, the
2005 NESCAC Rookie of the Year, joins a long list of Tufts players
to have earned Player of the Year recognition, as the annual honor
has been awarded to a member of the Jumbos roster in each of the
last six seasons.
Lopez also earned NESCAC
All-Conference First Team honors for the second consecutive year.
The sophomore second baseman enters NCAA Tournament action this
weekend having already shattered multiple single-season records at
Tufts. Lopez has set the single-season mark for runs scored (41),
RBIs (47) and total bases (94) this year, leading the NESCAC in
each of those categories, while her 51 hits ties the Tufts record
in a single year. Lopez has started every game this season for the
Jumbos, averaging .392 from the plate with a league-high 11 home
runs. Defensively, Lopez sports a .969 fielding percentage,
committing only six errors on 193 chances at second base.
Of the 11 members of the 2006
NESCAC All-Conference First Team, eight players earned First Team
accolades in 2005. Among the seven institutions represented on the
First Team, Tufts had the most players with three. Joining Lopez on
the First Team from the Jumbos are sophomore catcher Megan Cusick
(Albany, N.Y.) and first year outfielder Samantha Kuhles
(Somerville, N.J.). Cusick earned First Team honors in her rookie
season with Tufts last year, batting .333 with a .981 fielding
percentage. Kuhles is second among her teammates in average this
season, batting .380.
Seniors Alana Frost (Oakland,
Calif.) and Clara Hard (Seattle, Wash.) both represent Williams on
this season’s All-Conference First Team. Frost has earned
First Team honors in each of her four seasons with the Ephs,
receiving the conference’s Rookie of the Year award in 2003.
The second baseman for the Ephs, Frost leads the NESCAC in most
offensive categories this season, averaging .454 from the plate
while holding a .486 on-base percentage. During the 2006 NESCAC
Softball Championship, Frost was 6-for-9, driving in the decisive
run in a critical victory over Tufts, 1-0. Hard, who also earned
All-NESCAC First Team honors for a second-straight year as a
pitcher, ranks among the statistical leaders this season in the
league with an earned run average of 1.72, 106 strikeouts, and
holding opponents to a league-low .186 batting average. Hard (13-3)
was once again chosen by the coaches as the NESCAC Pitcher of the
Year, the third year in a row that she has earned the honor.
Amherst senior pitcher Miya Warner
(Berkeley, Calif.) came away with All-NESCAC First Team honors for
the third time in her career, after first receiving the honor in
2003 and again in 2005. Warner (14-5) led the NESCAC in strikeouts
this season with 147 while posting an ERA of 1.59 and stifling
opponents by holding batters to a .188 average, both figures second
among league pitchers.
Junior Sara Dougherty (Long Valley,
N.J.) and senior Lindsey Freeman (Lancaster, Mass.) make an
appearance on the First Team from Trinity. An All-Conference Second
Team selection the past two seasons, Dougherty started all 33 games
this season for the Bantams, splitting her time between pitcher and
first base. Dougherty went 11-6 with a 1.90 ERA from inside the
circle while batting .349 from the plate, second offensively for
Trinity. Freeman was not far behind her teammate, as the senior
catcher averaged .348 and finished in a two-way tie for second in
the NESCAC with nine home runs.
Rounding out the NESCAC
All-Conference First Team are Bowdoin senior shortstop Danielle
Chagnon (Windsor Locks, Conn.) and juniors Katie Franklin (New
Preston, Conn.) of Bates and Molly Gaebe (Miami, Fla.) of Wesleyan,
all of whom earned 2005 First Team recognition. Chagnon started all
40 games for the Polar Bears in 2006, leading the team with a .426
batting average. Gaebe led her team this season as well, posting a
.380 average while knocking in a team-high 17 runs for the
Cardinals. Franklin averaged .365 from the batter’s box,
hitting a team-best 14 doubles for the Bobcats.
Rookie of the Year honors went to
Bates’ Stacia Saniuk (Sharon, Mass.). In her first season
with the Bobcats, Saniuk posted a batting average of .371, second
among her teammates, collecting 36 hits and a team-best 28 RBIs.
Saniuk swatted nine home runs in 2006 while garnering a slugging
percentage of .753, numbers that place her in second among all
league players in both of those categories.
Williams head coach Kris Herman was
the choice among the coaches, earning Coach of the Year honors for
the third time in the last four years (2003, 2004). Herman has
guided the Ephs to a school-record 29 wins so far this season
(29-8) along with Williams’ third consecutive NESCAC Softball
crown.
2006 NESCAC Softball All-Conference
Team
|
| First Team
| School
| Yr.
| Hometown
|
| SS
| Danielle Chagnon
| Bowdoin
| Sr.
| Windsor Locks, Conn.
|
| C
| Megan Cusick
| Tufts
| So.
| Albany, N.Y.
|
| 1B/P
| Sara Dougherty
| Trinity
| Jr.
| Long Valley, N.J.
|
| CF
| Katie Franklin
| Bates
| Jr.
| New Preston, Conn.
|
| C
| Lindsey Freeman
| Trinity
| Sr.
| Lancaster, Mass.
|
| 2B
| Alana Frost
| Williams
| Sr.
| Oakland, Calif.
|
| OF/P/DP
| Molly Gaebe
| Wesleyan
| Jr.
| Miami, Fla.
|
| P
| Clara Hard
| Williams
| Sr.
| Seattle, Wash.
|
| OF/3B
| Samantha Kuhles
| Tufts
| Fy.
| Somerville, N.J.
|
| 2B
| Danielle Lopez
| Tufts
| So.
| Danvers, Mass.
|
| P
| Miya Warner
| Amherst
| Sr.
| Berkeley, Calif.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Second Team
| School
| Yr.
| Hometown
|
| P/DP
| Erica Bailey
| Tufts
| So.
| Scottsdale, Ariz.
|
| C/DP
| Lauren Battaglia
| Middlebury
| Sr.
| Framingham, Mass.
|
| OF
| Laura Chapman
| Tufts
| Fy.
| Seattle, Wash.
|
| OF
| Cathleen Clark
| Williams
| Jr.
| Plymouth, N.H.
|
| 1B
| Kyla Decato
| Bates
| Sr.
| Paris, Maine
|
| OF
| Beth Gostanian
| Trinity
| So.
| Windham, N.H.
|
| SS
| Joey Lye
| Williams
| Fy.
| Scarborough, Ontario
|
| 1B
| Laura Noel
| Williams
| Sr.
| Houston, Texas
|
| C/3B
| Amber O'Connor
| Hamilton
| Fy.
| Pembroke, Ontario
|
| P
| Lauren Olmsted
| Colby
| Sr.
| Lexington, Mass.
|
| P
| Margaret Ryan
| Williams
| So.
| Clarksburg, N.J.
|
| C/3B
| Stacia Saniuk
| Bates
| Fy.
| Sharon, Mass.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Player of the Year
|
|
|
|
| 2B
| Danielle Lopez
| Tufts
| So.
| Danvers, Mass.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Pitcher of the Year
|
|
|
|
| P
| Clara Hard
| Williams
| Sr.
| Seattle, Wash.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Rookie of the Year
|
|
|
|
| C/3B
| Stacia Saniuk
| Bates
| Fy.
| Sharon, Mass.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Coach of the Year
|
|
|
|
|
| Kris Herman
| Williams
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
