NESCAC Softball All-Conference Teams Released

McArdle of Tufts Named NESCAC Player of the Year

HARTFORD, Conn. - Senior center fielder Randee McArdle of conference champion Tufts University was named the 2001 NESCAC Softball Player of the Year. McArdle, who earned first-team honors last year, hit .366 in the regular season with team-highs of 28 runs scored and 31 runs batted in. She also led the team with 11 doubles and hit six home runs.

Junior pitcher Lauren Peloquin of Amherst, the 2000 NESCAC Player of the Year, was named the 2001 NESCAC Pitcher of the Year. She led the conference with a 0.38 earned run average with 155 strikeouts and just 19 walks in 110 and one-third innings. Bowdoin first-year pitcher Erin Hanley and Amherst first-year first baseman Gina Scribner shared the NESCAC Rookie of the Year honors. Hanley posted a 5-1 record and 0.67 earned run average with 47 strikeouts in 52 innings. Scribner hit .333 with 15 runs scored and 14 RBI. Tufts Head Coach Kris Talon earned NESCAC Coach of the Year honors for leading the Jumbos to the conference title and their fifth consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament.

McArdle and Peloquin were two of four players to earn repeat first-team all-conference honors. Sophomore catcher Lis Drake of Tufts was named to the first team for the second consecutive year after being named the 2000 NESCAC Rookie of the Year. Drake hit .375 with nine doubles, a team-high eight home runs, 22 runs scored, and 31 RBI. Junior second baseman Gisele Pinck of NESCAC West Division champion Williams also earned first-team accolades for the second year in a row. She hit .394 with 26 runs scored and 16 stolen bases.

Junior first baseman Kristie Miller of NESCAC tournament finalist Bowdoin was named to the first team this year after being honored on the all-conference second team a year ago. Miller hit .365 with four triples and 20 runs batted in. She was joined on the first team by teammate Katie Sheridan, a junior outfielder who hit .328 with 18 runs scored.

Two other players each from divisional champions Tufts and Williams earned first-team accolades. Junior shortstop Jen Mackey and junior first baseman Tiffany Trahan of Tufts received first-team recognition as did sophomore pitcher Katherine Baldwin and junior shortstop Jessica Hartley of Williams. Mackey hit .383 with 26 runs scored, and Trahan hit .388 with 25 runs scored and 26 RBI. Baldwin posted a 12-4 record with a 1.27 earned run average, while Hartley hit .422 with 21 runs scored. Rounding out the all-conference first team was senior outfielder Meg Nelson of Amherst. She hit .389 with 14 doubles, 19 runs scored, and 17 runs batted in.

2001 NESCAC Softball All-Conference Team