PAC releases 2016 All-Conference softball teams, award winners

PAC releases 2016 All-Conference softball teams, award winners

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GREENVILLE, Pa. (pacathletics.org) – The Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) announced its 2016 All-PAC Softball teams and annual award winners Wednesday.

The All-PAC Softball teams and award winners are determined by vote of the league's 10 head coaches.

Saint Vincent College junior pitcher Samantha Emert (Rockwood, Pa. / Rockwood) was selected as the 2016 PAC Player of the Year, while Saint Vincent 10th-year head coach Nicole Hinerman-Karr collected PAC Coach of the Year honors.

Emert, a First Team selection in 2015 and Honorable Mention pick in 2014, is Saint Vincent’s first-ever PAC Player of the Year award winner. She led the league in wins (17) and opponent batting average (.198), was second in ERA (1.16), third in strikeouts (104), fourth in innings pitched (144.1) and starts (22) and tied for fourth in appearances (24). Her seven shutouts this season currently rank 10th among NCAA Division III counterparts, while her 1.16 ERA ranks 17th.

Emert was recognized as the PAC Championship Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player Saturday after leading the Bearcats to their first-ever league title. She earned the victory in Saturday’s “if necessary” game, marking her fourth win during the two-day championship tournament. She went 4-1 with a 0.56 ERA and 19 strikeouts during the Bearcats’ five-game title run.

The PAC Coach of the Year award is Hinerman-Karr’s first. She led Saint Vincent (28-13) to this year’s championship tournament title as the number three seed, which included a pair of walk-off wins over fourth-seeded Bethany College Saturday afternoon. The Bearcats have appeared in the league's championship tournament three times (2015-16, 2012) in the last five years. 

Saint Vincent earned the PAC’s automatic qualifying bid to the Division III Softball Championship and will travel to Norfolk, Virginia to face host and top-ranked Virginia Wesleyan College (38-5), winners of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) title, in regional round action on Friday, May 13.

The Bearcats were picked third (1 first-place vote, 77 points) on this year’s PAC Softball Preseason Coaches’ Poll, which was released on February 12.

Grove City and second-year head coach Kristen Hughes-Cramer were selected as the PAC Team Sportsmanship Award winners.

2016 Awards
PAC Player of the Year: Saint Vincent College junior pitcher Samantha Emert (Rockwood, Pa. / Rockwood)
PAC Coach of the Year: Saint Vincent College head coach Nicole Hinerman-Karr
Team Sportsmanship Award: Grove City College
 
2016 All-Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Softball Teams
First Team
Position Name Class School Hometown / High School
C Bree Appel So. Thomas More College Amelia, Ohio / Batavia
1B Shelby Noel So. Saint Vincent College Latrobe, Pa. / Greater Latrobe
2B Sammy Sagers So. Thomas More College Cincinnati, Ohio / Oak Hills
SS Abby Cunningham Jr. Washington & Jefferson College McMurray, Pa. / Peters Township
SS Kailey Liverman Fr. Westminster College Purcellville, Va. / Loudoun Valley
3B Emily Lindsey Jr. Westminster College Freeport, Pa. / Freeport
OF Kayla Kelly Sr. Bethany College Pasadena, Md./Institute of Notre Dame
OF Sarah Swettlen Sr. Saint Vincent College Greensburg, Pa. / Hempfield Area
OF Alix DeDreu Fr. Thomas More College Rising Sun, Ind. / Rising Sun
OF Checka Nardone Jr. Westminster College Ellwood City, Pa. / Lincoln
UT Emily Duerr So. Saint Vincent College Pittsburgh, Pa. / Our Lady of the Sacred Heart
P Cassie Weiss So. Bethany College Washington, Pa. / McGuffey
P Samantha Emert Jr. Saint Vincent College Rockwood, Pa. / Rockwood
P Mamee Salzer Sr. Thomas More College Erlanger, Ky. / St. Henry
P Jazmyn Rohrer So. Westminster College Purcellville, Va. / Woodgrove
 
Second Team
Position Name Class School Hometown / High School
C Marissa Bosley Sr. Bethany College New Martinsville, W.Va./Magnolia
C Kelsey Hunter Fr. Saint Vincent College Pittsburgh, Pa. / Vincentian Academy
C Alexis Sheffer Sr. Westminster College Seneca, Pa. / Cranberry
1B Caitlyn Carney Jr. Thiel College Lake Milton, Ohio / Jackson Milton
2B Alexa Fike So. Thiel College Export, Pa. / Franklin Regional
SS Ana Walter Sr. Thomas More College Lebanon, Ohio / Lebanon
3B Lucia Fee Jr. Geneva College Wampum, Pa. / Mohawk
OF Dayna Hicks Sr. Geneva College Beaver Falls, Pa. / Blackhawk
OF Haley Sainato Fr. Geneva College New Castle, Pa. / Mohawk
OF Morgan Murphy Fr. Saint Vincent College Churchill, Pa. / Woodland Hills
OF Rachel Marx Jr. Washington & Jefferson College
Oakdale, Pa. / West Allegheny
UT Dallis Knotts So. Thomas More College Florence, Ky. / Boone County
P Krista McCartney Sr. Washington & Jefferson College Salem, Ohio / United Local
P Courtney Messenger Fr. Waynesburg University East Liverpool, Ohio / Beaver Local
P Amber Forrest Sr. Westminster College Clear Spring, Md. / Clear Spring
 
Honorable Mention
Position Name Class School Hometown / High School
1B Deanna Mihalco Sr. Bethany College Patterson, N.Y. / Brewster
SS A.J. Corradi So. Thiel College Youngstown, Ohio / Austintown Fitch
OF Madison Fullmer Fr. Thiel College Elyria, Ohio / Elyria
DP Clara Sevy Jr. Geneva College Sykesville, Md. / Chapelgate Christian
UT Lyndsey Gallaway So. Chatham University Wooster, Ohio / Wooster
UT Erika Aughton Jr. Grove City College Moon Township, Pa. / Moon