2011 GNAC Softball All-Conference Teams Announced

Complete list of First, Second and Third All-Conference Teams

First Team All-Conference

Player of the Year-Infield- Annie Thompson, Simmons College, Sr., Pacific Palisades, CA

Annie Thompson of Simmons College has been named the 2011 GNAC Player of the Year for her stellar performance at the plate and at shortstop. She tallied a .576 overall batting average with an astonishing .610 conference average with 39 RBI in the lead-off position. The senior captain manufactured a .848 slugging percentage with 72 hits, and led the GNAC in batting average, runs scored, hits, and on base percentage. Thompson is currently ranked fifth in NCAA D.III for batting average but previously held the number one spot. Additionally, she anchored the Sharks defense at shortstop, starting in all 36 games while only committing seven errors.

Pitcher of the Year- Kelsey Tuthill, Emerson College, Jr., Middlefield, CT

Kelsey Tuthill of Emerson College has been named the 2011 GNAC Pitcher of the Year for her top performance on the mound. The Lions’ starting pitcher returned from an injury plagued 2010 to collect this incredible honor and led her team to a first finish in the regular season. In conference play, Tuthill only allowed 11 runs scored and 29 hits out of 13 games hit, averaging an incredible 1.18 runs per game. Offensively, she batted .364 overall while hitting .450 in conference, with five homeruns and 27 RBI.

Rookie of the Year-Infield- Emily Cunningham, Simmons College, Fr ., Cotuit, MA

Emily Cunningham of Simmons College took an infield position on the 2011 all-conference First Team. The rookie first baseman played impeccable defense for the Sharks, while also coming up big in the number three spot offensively. She hit an impressive .410 overall tallying 35 hits, 30 RBI, with 25 runs scored. Defensively, Cunningham had merely two errors in 23 conference starts at first base, accounting for a fielding percentage of .985.

Pitcher- Kristina Torres, St. Joseph College of Connecticut, Fr., Groton, CT

Kristina Torres of St. Joseph College earned one of the two pitching spots on the 2011 First Team all-conference. The rookie hurler led the Blue Jays to their best season yet. She topped the conference with an astounding overall ERA of 1.84 and ranked fifth in strikeouts with 93 in 102 innings pitched.

Catcher- Marley Balasco, Norwich University, Sr., Barrington, RI

Marley Balasco of Norwich University has been named to the 2011 all-conference team for her work behind the dish. She led the Cadets in nearly every offensive category and also caught nearly every inning of each game, accounting for a .984 fielding percentage. Offensively, Balasco produced a .449 batting average with 44 hits, 36 RBI, and 26 runs scored.  The senior captain led the Cadets to countless critical wins, where she came in clutch with her bat and totaled a whopping 10 homeruns on the season.

Infield- Catherine Roy, Rivier College, Fr., Dracut, MA

Catherine Roy of Rivier College has been named to the 2011 First Team all-conference for her performance at shortstop. In her rookie season, Catherine led the Raiders to the GNAC Championship game, by her performance at the plate. She topped her team in hits with 49, batting average (.434) and RBI (35), and ranked amongst the top in all three categories in the GNAC. In the field, Roy secured the shortstop position with a .943 fielding percentage.

Infield- Lindsey Moore, St. Joseph’s Maine, Fr., Barrington, NH

Lindsey Moore of St. Joseph’s College of Maine, has been awarded an infield spot on the First Team all-conference. The rookie shortstop was a top player for the 2011 GNAC Champion Monks, both in the field and at the plate. She concluded the season with a .406 batting average with 43 hits and 30 RBI.

Outfield- Emily Leverone, St. Joseph’s Maine, Jr., Hampton, NH

Emily Leverone of St. Joseph’s College of Maine has been named to the GNAC First Team all-conference for the third consecutive season. Leverone led the Monks to an incredible GNAC Champion season with her stellar plate appearance. She was a huge force at the plate, hitting .448 while topping the GNAC in slugging percentage with an unbelievable .845, RBI (46), doubles (16), and homeruns (10). Additionally, Leverone has broken the Monks’ career RBI record and all-time hit record, both only as a junior.

Outfield- Christina Mulcahy, Simmons College, Fr., Cambridge, MA

Christina Mulcahy of Simmons College has earned an outfield spot on the First Team all-conference for the 2011 season. This rookie has been a tremendous outfielder for the Sharks, and has produced in clutch situations when the game was on the line. Mulcahy batted .357 with a .622 slugging percentage, totaling 35 hits, four homeruns and 38 RBI. She had three game-winning hits including a bottom of the seventh grand slam to lift the Sharks over previously undefeated Emerson.

Outfield- Danielle Shufelt, St. Joseph’s College of Maine, So., Sutton, VT  

Danielle Shufelt of St. Joseph’s College of Maine has been awarded an outfield position on the First Team all-conference. The sophomore has used her incredible speed in the outfield and on the base paths to help the Monks’ to a GNAC Championship. Shufelt ranked third in the GNAC in hits (50) and led St. Joe’s with 36 runs scored and 13 stolen bases. In the lead-off spot, she batted .391, being an imminent threat when reaching base.

Utility- Courteney Collier, Simmons College, Sr., Bolton, MA

Courteney Collier of Simmons College has been named to the GNAC First Team all-conference for her performance on the mound, in the infield and up at bat. Collier started 13 games as the Sharks’ starting pitcher and 11 games as the third baseman. As a pitcher, she struck out 78 batters in 63.2 innings of work in GNAC play, accounting for an overall record of 11-4 with a 3.56 overall ERA. Collier was also a top producer for the Sharks, batting in the clean-up spot; with a .382 batting average overall, a .427 conference average, with five homeruns, 42 hits, and 30 RBI.

Designated Hitter- Lynn Herman, Emerson College, Sr., Boca Raton, FL

Lynn Herman of Emerson College has been awarded the designated hitter spot on this year’s all-conference team. She led the Lions to a number one regular season finish by anchoring the offensive lineup. Herman is the team leader with six homeruns, and produced 25 RBI with a .389 batting average and .778 slugging percentage. Herman tied the NCAA D.III record in 2010 for hitting four homeruns in one game, two coming in the same inning.

Coach of the Year- Anne Hennigan, Simmons College

In only her third year at the helm of the Sharks, Ann Hennigan has earned Coach of the Year honors. She led Simmons to a 24-15 regular season record (19-5 GNAC), and an appearance in the conference tournament semifinal round. Hennigan had four  athletes made the All-Conference First Team, one athlete made the Second Team, and two garnered Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year honors.