May 1, 2009
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Endicott College softball player Merry MacDonald (Braintree, Mass.) was named The Commonwealth Coast Conference Player of the Year this year, as announced by TCCC Commissioner Gregg M. Kaye on Thursday afternoon. MacDonald, along with eight other Endicott players, were named to the All-TCCC First, Second, and Honorable Mention teams, including five First-Team nods. The Gulls (34-7) will meet up with Salve Regina University (24-18-1) on Saturday morning at 10:00 a.m. to determine who will play Western New England College (29-12) in the TCCC Championship later in the day.
MacDonald, earning the Player of the Year and a First-Team selection, has been a tremendous all-around performer for an Endicott team that entered the TCCC tournament sporting a 33-6 overall record and an almost-perfect 23-1 mark in conference-play. During TCCC play, MacDonald led all conference players with a staggering .506 batting average, while also leading the league in hits (40, tied), total bases (72) and slugging percentage (.911). She ranked second in runs scored (34), home runs (9), RBI (33) and on-base percentage (.536).
Joining MacDonald on the First-Team were Meghan Sargent (Salisbury, Mass.), Sarah Spaziano (Norton, Mass.), Jenna Lazar (Milton, Mass.), and Megan Downey (Ballston Lake, N.Y.). Sargent was second on the team in slugging percentage (.662) in Conference games and second in RBI (26) and homeruns (6) all while hitting .368 in TCCC play. The middle infield of Jenna Lazar and Sarah Spaziano combined to hit .425 and score 55 runs and drive in 38 runs, all in 24 Conference games. The duo also combined for power numbers as they slugged .593 with three homeruns, nine doubles, and three triples between the two. Megan Downey was fourth on the team in batting average (.417) in 17 TCCC games while scoring 13 runs and picking up 15 hits.
The Gulls also received a pair of Second-Team honors from Casey Shanley (Billerica, Mass.) and Ashley Wright (Merrimack, N.H.). Shanley led the Gulls with seven doubles in Conference games while also scoring 30 runs and slugging .652. Shanley also tied for third on the team in RBI with 22 and was third on the team with five round-trippers. Ashley Wright hit an impressive .377 with 18 runs scored and 15 runs batted in. Wright also led the outfield in putouts and was second only to Megan Downey in fielding percentage at .968.
Rounding out Endicott's All-Conference nominations was Hayley Hovhanessian (Farmington, Conn.). The Gulls' leftfielder hit .356 in 23 TCCC games while placing fourth in hits (26) and tied for third in RBI (22).
Student-athletes from eleven different institutions in The Commonwealth Coast Conference were represented on the 2009 All-TCCC Softball Team. In addition to the all-conference team, winners of five major individual awards and the team sportsmanship award were also selected. Along with MacDonald's TCCC Player of the Year award, Salve Regina University junior Sarah Jakiela was picked as TCCC Pitcher of the Year, Regis College freshman Caitlin Luquet was chosen TCCC Rookie of the Year, University of New England's Megan Gaedje was honored as TCCC Senior Scholar Athlete of the Year, Wentworth's Bob Long was honored as TCCC Coach of the Year, and Wentworth Institute of Technology was the recipient of the Team Sportsmanship Award.
Voting for the All-TCCC team and each of the major awards was conducted among TCCC softball coaches.
The full TCCC All-Conference nominations release can be seen by clicking here.
