HOUGHTON, N.Y. – Six members of the Houghton softball program have earned all-conference post season honors in voting by Empire 8 coaches announced today.
Hannah Haskell and
Grace Thompson were named to the All-E8 First Team,
Lydia Peterson and
Kayla Loomis earned All-E8 Second Team honors, while
Elise Swanson and
Carlee Miller were All-E8 Third Team honorees.
In addition, led by first year Head Coach
Chad Muise, the Highlanders earned the Empire 8 Coaching Staff of the Year Award. Muise and his staff of assistant coaches
Olivia Scarbrough,
Brianna Carpenter and
Hannah Bailey led Houghton to its finest season in program history as they reached the 20-win plateau for the first time and were in contention for an Empire 8 postseason berth until the final weekend of the regular season.
Haskell led the Highlanders, and was among the E8 leaders, in several offensive categories. She hit a team-leading .457 on 58 hits, while adding 39 runs, six doubles, six triples and three home runs. She set program records for season batting average, hits, runs and triples and career marks for hits (142) and batting average. Defensively, the senior produced a .936 field percentage with 56 putouts and 90 assists at shortstop.
Thompson was second on the team with a .431 batting average and third with 47 hits. She led the team with 12 doubles, while adding a triple, home run and 23 RBI. She also scored 22 runs and was second on the team with 64 total bases. She also had a .956 field percentage with 28 putouts and 59 assists at third base.
Peterson hit .393 on 48 hits, while scoring 34 runs and adding 19 RBI and 52 total bases. She was a perfect 8 for 8 on stolen base attempts. Defensively, she produced a .928 field percentage with 61 putouts in center field.
Loomis was the team's ace on the mound and set a program record with 12 wins on the season. She produced a 3.43 ERA in 163.1 innings pitched, striking out 98 and walking just 35 in 28 appearances.
Swanson produced a .327 batting average on 36 hits with four doubles, 13 RBI and 18 runs scored. At first base, Swanson had a fielding percentage of .988 with 239 putouts.
Miller had 31 hits with 19 runs scored. She was second on the team in both RBI (34) and doubles (9). She added a triple and two home runs and a was perfect 4 for 4 on stolen bases. Defensively, Miller had a fielding percentage of .893 with 73 putouts and 60 assists at second base.
In addition,
Barbara Richert was Houghton's representative on the Empire 8 Sportswoman of the Year team. One student-athlete from each E8 institution was selected to the team. The Empire 8 Conference emphasizes that "Competing with Honor and Integrity" is an essential component of a student-athlete's experience in conjunction with an institution's educational mission. These honorees have distinguished themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits as outstanding sportswomen.
Full E8 Release
