BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Six Bridgewater State University student-athletes have been selected to the 2018 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Softball All-Conference Team which was announced today by the league’s Director of Media Relations, Emily Loux.
Sophomore left fielder Kacie Carvalho, sophomore first baseman Shannon Grindle and junior utility player Jenny Heller were voted to the All-MASCAC First Team by the league’s coaches, while sophomore shortstop Samantha Mulcahy, freshman right fielder Alexandra Ruprecht and sophomore pitcher Natalie Sorrenti were second team honorees.
Ruprecht was also voted as the MASCAC Rookie of the Year by the league’s eight head coaches. She is the Bears’ first rookie of the year since 2006 when second baseman Kristen Jackman earned the honor.
Carvalho is making her third straight appearance on the All-MASCAC Team, while Grindle is making her second. Heller, Mulcahy, Ruprecht and Sorrenti are all first time honorees.
A native of Fairhaven, Massachusetts, Carvalho batted .430 (43-100) in 36 games this season with three doubles, eight stolen bases, 25 runs scored and 12 runs batted in. She ranks fourth among the MASCAC leaders in batting average, fifth in both on base percentage (.472) and hits (43), and eighth in steals.
In 98 games over her first three seasons at Bridgewater State, Carvalho sports a .420 (116-276) career batting average with eighth doubles, three triples, 16 stolen bases, 66 runs and 31 RBI.
A native of Halifax, Massachusetts, Grindle finished the 2018 campaign with a .404 batting average (42-104), nine home runs, nine doubles, 26 runs and 34 RBI in 35 games. She also walked 28 times. Grindle sits atop the conference leaderboard in home runs, walks and put outs (238). She also ranks second in slugging percentage (.750), third in both doubles and on base percentage (.534), fourth in RBI and total bases (78), fifth in batting average, eight in hits (42) and ninth in runs (26).
In 70 games over her first two seasons with the Bears, Grindle has a career batting average of .383 (85-222) with 11 home runs, 19 doubles, 36 walks, 41 runs and 68 RBI to go along with a .617 slugging percentage and a .469 on base percentage.
Heller, who appeared in 15 games this season at second base, nine at shortstop and nine in the outfield, batted.402 (41-102) in 35 contests overall with nine doubles, a triple, three home runs and 27 RBI. The Taunton, Massachusetts product is third in the conference in doubles, sixth in batting average, eight in slugging percentage (.598) and tenth in hits (41).
Heller has posted a career batting average of .359 (65-181) in 64 games over her first two seasons at BSU. She also has three home runs, 11 doubles, a triple and six stolen bases to her credit as well as 35 runs and 37 RBI.
In her first season at Bridgewater State, Mulcahy produced a .355 batting average (43-121) with two home runs, a pair of doubles, two triples and eight stolen bases to go along with 26 runs scored and 20 runs batted in. The Taunton, Massachusetts native currently ranks second in the MASCAC in sacrifice bunts (7) and is fourth in steals, fifth in hits (43) and seventh in walks (11). Mulcahy is also ninth in the conference in both on base percentage (.418) and runs.
Ruprecht put together a terrific rookie campaign in 2018 as she was one of only two Bears to play and start all 37 games. The Kingston, Massachusetts resident batted .325 (41-126) with two homers, nine doubles, 24 runs and 33 RBI. She ranks third in the MASCAC in doubles, fifth in RBI and tenth in hits (41).
Sorrenti made an immediate impact after joining the team in early April. The Bridgewater, Massachusetts product went 9-4 in 14 appearances in the circle with 11 complete games and a pair of shutouts. She also recorded a 2.04 earned run average and fanned 42 batters with only nine walks in 79 innings of work, while limiting opponents to a .226 batting average. Sorrenti ranks second in the MASCAC in ERA, third in batting average against, complete games and wins, and fifth in strikeouts.
The BSU softball team wrapped up the 2018 campaign with an overall record of 18-19. Seeded fourth in the MASCAC Tournament with a 9-5 conference mark, the Bears earned a 9-1 opening round victory over fifth-seeded Salem State University before dropping a pair of decisions to top-seeded Worcester State University and #3 Westfield State University.