HADLEY, Mass. – Middlebury senior Noelle Ruschil was voted as the NESCAC Player of the Year as the conference softball awards were announced on Friday. Tufts' teammates Sophia DiCocco and Josie Steinberg were tabbed as the Pitcher of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, respectively, while Trinity's Taylor Mikolajczak was named the Rookie of the Year, and her head coach Molly Rathbun was selected as the Coach of the Year by her peers.
Ruschil is the second Panther to garner the NESCAC Player of the Year honor, joining Melanie Mandell (2019). She established new single-season marks for homers (15) and hits (45) while also moving into first on Middlebury's career home run leaders list with 20. Rushil hit 15 home runs with 48 RBI this season to lead the NESCAC. She also led the league with a .484 batting average, a 1.673 OPS, and a 1.108 slugging percentage and tied for second in the conference with 35 runs scored. Ruschil led the Panthers to a 20-10 record and an 8-4 mark in the NESCAC West Division. The Panthers were the West No. 2 seed and advanced to the semifinals of the NESCAC Championship.
DiCocco added the NESCAC Pitcher of the Year honor to her collection of accolades after being named the NESCAC Rookie of the Year in 2021. She is the third straight Tufts pitcher, and fifth overall, to win the award. The sophomore owns the best ERA in the conference at 0.96 and has worked a league-leading 153.2 innings. She has registered 86 strikeouts and earned 15 wins in the circle for the Jumbos. Tufts finished the regular season with an 11-1 NESCAC East Division mark and earned the top seed in the division. The Jumbos reached the NESCAC Championship game for the second year in a row and will host an NCAA Regional this weekend in Medford, Mass.
Steinberg is the second straight Jumbo to be named NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year and sixth overall. She leads the NESCAC in assists (93), turned four double plays, and owns a .947 fielding percentage. Steinberg has started all 41 games for the Jumbos and leads the team with a .397 average with 56 hits, 11 of which are doubles.
Mikolajczak is the first Trinity player to be named NESCAC Rookie of the Year. She started all 30 games in her first season with the Bantams and hit .385 with 37 hits and 28 runs scored. Mikolajczak also went 25-for-28 in stolen bases to lead the NESCAC and set a new program record for stolen bases.
Rathbun wins the NESCAC Coach of the Year honor for the first time in her career in her third season at the helm of the Bantams. Rathbun led Trinity to a 19-14 overall record and an 8-4 NESCAC East Divisional record. Trinity advanced to the NESCAC Semifinals before falling to eventual champion Amherst.
2022 NESCAC Softball All-Conference Team
Player of the Year: Noelle Ruschil, Middlebury
Pitcher of the Year: Sophia DiCocco, Tufts
Defensive Player of the Year: Josie Steinberg, Tufts
Rookie of the Year: Taylor Makolajczak, Trinity
Coach of the Year: Molly Rathbun, Trinity
| 2022 NESCAC Softball All-Conference Team |
| First Team |
| Pos |
Name |
Institution |
Class |
Hometown |
Previous Honors |
| OF |
Michelle Adelman |
Tufts |
Jr. |
Cooper City, Fla. |
2021 1st Team |
| P/DH |
Amanda Cabral |
Colby |
Jr. |
Whittier, Calif. |
|
| P |
Sophia DiCocco |
Tufts |
So. |
Bozrah, Conn. |
2021 Rookie of the Year, 2021 1st Team |
| P |
Sky Johnson |
Tufts |
So. |
Pismo Beach, Conn. |
|
| UTIL |
Mara Kipnis |
Williams |
Sr. |
Redmond, Wash. |
2021 2nd Team, 2019 Rookie of the Year, 2019 1st Team |
| IF |
Taylor Mikolajczak |
Trinity |
Fy. |
John's Creek, Ga. |
|
| P/OF |
Abby Orso |
Colby |
So. |
York Harbor, Maine |
|
| IF |
Noelle Ruschil |
Middlebury |
Sr. |
Katonah, N.Y. |
|
| IF |
Michaela Russell |
Trinity |
Jr. |
Boston, Mass. |
|
| UTIL |
Josie Steinberg |
Tufts |
Jr. |
Larchmont, N.Y. |
|
| C |
Chloe Wilcox |
Colby |
So. |
Windham, Maine |
|
| Second Team |
| Pos |
Name |
Institution |
Class |
Hometown |
Previous Honors |
| SS |
Lilly Armstrong |
Bowdoin |
Jr. |
Winchester, Mass. |
2021 1st Team |
| P/IF |
Jewel Ashbrook |
Middlebury |
Jr. |
Fremont, Neb. |
|
| UTIL |
Courtney Collins-Pisano |
Wesleyan |
Sr. |
Westwood, Mass. |
|
| C/OF |
Ella Heftved |
Hamilton |
Fy. |
Costa Mesa, Calif. |
|
| OF |
Jordyn Johnson |
Middlebury |
Jr. |
Hoover, Ala. |
|
| IF |
Lindsey Kim |
Bates |
Jr. |
Palo Alto, Calif. |
|
| 3B/OF |
Angelina Mayers |
Bowdoin |
Jr. |
Bound Brook, N.J. |
|
| OF |
Abby Santis |
Middlebury |
Jr. |
Hopkinton, N.H. |
|
| C/1B |
Sophia Sciarappa |
Wesleyan |
Sr. |
Charlton, Mass. |
2021 1st Team |
| P/1B |
Isabella Secaira-Cotto |
Wesleyan |
Fy. |
Valley Stream, N.Y. |
|
| P/OF |
Dani Torres Werra |
Amherst |
Fy. |
Merced, Calif. |
|
