SB: Three Lasers earn All-GNAC honors in 2021

NEWTON, Mass. – Three freshmen on the Lasell University softball team were honored Wednesday when the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) announced its All-Conference Teams for the 2021 season. The All-GNAC Teams are voted on by the conference's head coaches.

Freshman outfielder Ally Kirck (Hamden, Conn./Sacred Heart Academy) earned the top honor for Lasell with selection to the All-GNAC Second Team. Freshman third baseman Katie Hopkins (New Hyde Park, N.Y./Memorial) and freshman pitcher Eryn Sheeley (North Haven, Conn./North Haven) were Third Team honorees.

The three rookies are the first Lasers to earn GNAC post-season honors since 2016. They were the standouts as Lasell wrapped up the season with an 8-13 overall record and a 2-10 mark in the GNAC under second-year head coach Sarah Woodside.

Ally Kirck	Katie Hopkins	Eryn Sheeley

Kirck batted .351 this season (20-for-57) with three doubles, 11 walks, seven runs batted in and 19 runs scored. She had six multi-hit games, including a 4-for-4 performance against Anna Maria College and a 3-for-3 effort against GNAC runner-up Johnson & Wales University. The Laser starter mostly in center field, Kirck also played some second base and was named GNAC Rookie of the Week back on March 29.

Hopkins was second on the team and 13th in the GNAC with a .387 batting average (24-for-62), recording three doubles, a triple, two home runs, 13 runs scored and 18 runs batted in. She hit safely in her first 13 games of the season and had four multi-hit games, including three hits in three games. The starting third baseman, she hit a pair of home runs in a loss at GNAC runner-up Johnson & Wales University and was named GNAC Co-Player and Co-Rookie of the Week on April 12.

Sheeley became the top pitcher on the team this season, starting 10 games and posting four wins, nine complete games and a 4.06 earned run average. She pitched a team-high 72 innings and struck out 81 batters, both second-most among all GNAC pitchers. She also ranked ninth in the conference in victories and 12th in ERA.

Junior Kelsey Scannevin (Harpswell, Maine/Mt. Ararat) was also recognized as Lasell's representative on the GNAC All-Sportsmanship Team.

 2021 GNAC All-Conference Team

FIRST TEAM
C - Megan Burke, St. Joseph (Conn.)
1B - Emily Blanchard, Emmanuel
2B - Kaelani Gamble, Johnson & Wales
3B - Jill Pulek, Johnson & Wales
SS - Olivia Conti, Emmanuel
OF - Jadynne Hill, Emmanuel
OF - Julyanne Pacheco, Emmanuel
OF - Ashlee White, St. Joseph (Conn.)
DP - Tianna Dawe, Emmanuel
UTIL - Devin Scales, Johnson & Wales
P - Megan Long, Emmanuel
P - Alessandra Milardo, St. Joseph (Conn.)

SECOND TEAM
C - Elizabeth Niven, Norwich
1B - Hailey Erickson, Johnson & Wales
2B - Michelle Woodruff, St. Joseph (Conn.)
3B - Maegan Amsler, Emmanuel
SS - Julia Huzi, Johnson & Wales
OF - Renae Lacroix, Emmanuel
OF - Megan Antaya, Johnson & Wales
OF - Ally Kirck, Lasell
DP - Ivy Geloso, Albertus Magnus
UTIL - Jenna Masiello, St. Joseph (Conn.)
P - Laura Anderson, Albertus Magnus
P - Livia Feole, Johnson & Wales

THIRD TEAM
C - Avery Webb, Emmanuel
1B - Talia Smaller, Johnson & Wale
2B - Kiana Hinson, Emmanuel
3B - Katie Hopkins, Lasell
SS - Eden Forget, Anna Maria
OF - Olivia DiGiacomo, Johnson & Wales
OF - Dara Kelly, Norwich
OF - Madison Mayo, Dean
DP - Annika Beebe, Norwich
UTIL - Jess Stettinger, Albertus Magnus
P - Eryn Sheeley, Lasell
P - Natalie Amato, St. Joseph (Conn.)

PLAYER OF THE YEAR - Jill Pulek, Johnson & Wales
PITCHER OF THE YEAR - Megan Long, Emmanuel
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR - Olivia Conti, Emmanuel
COACH OF THE YEAR - Olivia Berry, Emmanuel
INSTITUTIONAL SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD - Anna Maria College

ALL-SPORTSMANSHIP TEAM
Megan Anderson, Albertus Magnus
Kassandra Register, Anna Maria
Jaylee Martinez, Dean
Kiana Hinson, Emmanuel
Jessica Rynne, Johnson & Wales
Kelsey Scannevin, Lasell
Elizabeth Niven, Norwich
Kasey Smith, Rivier
Abigail Dillon, St. Joseph (Conn.)
Taylor Owen, Saint Joseph's (Maine)

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