O'Connell lands First Team All-NACC honors for second-straight season

WAUKESHA, Wis. – Concordia University Wisconsin sophomore Molly O'Connell was named to the First Team All-Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference for the second straight season, the league office announced Thursday morning.

O'Connell (New London, Wis.) was named as the utility player on the First Team, after serving as both a pitcher and an outfielder for the Falcons this past spring.

The sophomore had another outstanding year batting atop the Falcons lineup. She hit .414 with 59 base hits, 39 runs scored, 12 doubles, two triples, and four home runs. O'Connell drove in 24 runs, posting a .633 slugging percentage. She reached base at a .476 clip and stole 14 bases for the Falcons.

In 22 conference games, O'Connell scored 22 runs while hitting .397 with 15 RBI. Nine of her doubles and three of her home runs came in league games. She also posted a 3.61 ERA in 54.1 innings pitched in conference contests. O'Connell ended the year in a zone in the circle, allowing no earned runs four of her last five starts.

Melissa Balkema of Concordia Chicago was named the NACC Position Player of the Year while Abby Mahsem of Wisconsin Lutheran was chosen as the Pitcher of the Year. Marian had the other two major awards as Peyton Loesch landed Freshman of the Year honors and Tony Draves was named Coach of the Year.

A complete list of the 2018 NACC Softball Awards can be found here.