Four from Softball earn All-NACC honors
WAUKESHA, Wis. – Following a 16-6 NACC season, which was good enough for a third place finish in the league, the Concordia University Wisconsin Softball team had four players selected to All-Conference teams. The four student-athletes earned Second Team honors as the league announced its awards Thursday morning
The four Falcons who were named to the Second Team were freshman Christine Sharon, sophomores Carly Sobrilsky and Alexis Holsten, and junior Melissa Perkins. Sharon, a freshman third basemen, was also named to the league's All-Freshman team.
Perkins (Park Forest, Ill.) was named to the Second Team for the second straight season. The junior pitcher finished third in the conference with 14 wins, while tying for the league lead with two saves. She had a 3.18 ERA and ranked fourth among conference pitchers with 127.2 innings pitched. What was most impressive about Perkins was her ability to throw strikes as she walked just 15 batters in those 127.2 innings pitched.
Sobrilsky (Brookfield, Wis.) was an All-Freshman selection last season and was the Falcons top hitter during NACC play this year. She finished the season with eight home runs, which was second most in the conference and drove in a team-best 30 runs. In conference only games the sophomore catcher hit .394 with seven home runs and 24 RBI, slugging an impressive .788. She did all this while catching every NACC game. In conference games, only six runners tried stealing on Sobrilsky, with five of those being thrown out in the process.
Holsten (Oshkosh, Wis.) hit .343 while tying for the Falcons lead with 11 doubles. The sophomore outfielder scored 14 times and drove in 18 runs, while adding four stolen bases. In 16 NACC games, Holsten batted .377 with seven doubles and 11 runs scored. Three of her stolen bases came in conference play as well.
Sharon (Cornell, Mich.) served as the Falcons leadoff hitter and batted .350 in conference play in her rookie season. She led the team with 19 runs scored in NACC games and drove in 13 runs during 20 league contests as well. Sharon finished the regular season with a team-leading 31 runs scored. She hit five doubles, two triples and one home run, a walkoff blast against Benedictine University. She also had a .941 fielding percentage while playing third base. Sharon added 40 innings pitched this season with a 4-2 record and a 3.15 ERA.
Aurora University, who won the NACC regular season title with an unblemished league record, swept the four major awards. Mandey Shrader was named the Position Player of the Year with Vanessa Hartzell winning Pitcher of the Year honors. Larkin Langston added Freshman of the Year honors, while the Spartans Mike McKenzie was selected as Coach of the Year by his peers.
The four All-NACC players and the rest of the Falcons will take to the field today against Edgewood in the NACC Tournament. CUW and Edgewood are set for the first game at the league tournament, which is scheduled for a 10 a.m. start.
