Softball | 5/12/2021 9:49:56 AM
St. John Fisher College senior pitcher/infielder Emily Trotman was named Player of the Year, while Alfred University graduate student Jessica Wilcox earned Pitcher of the Year accolades, as the Empire 8 Conference announced its 2021 Softball All-Conference awards on Wednesday, May 12. The awards are voted on by the league's head coaches.
First-year standout Mya Wells of Alfred University earned Rookie of the Year honors. Bari Mance and her staff from St. John Fisher was named E8 Coaching Staff of the Year.
Trotman has excelled both at the plate and in the pitcher’s circle this season in helping lead the Cardinals to a 19-1 mark in league play and the 2021 Empire 8 Regular Season Championship. At the plate, Trotman is batting .474 with a .779 slugging percentage and 1.289 OPS. She has 17 extra base hits, including six home runs and 27 runs batted in. Trotman is 12-2 in the circle with a 1.30 earned run average and 0.96 WHIP with 10 complete games. She is the fifth St. John Fisher student-athlete to earn E8 Player of the Year honors. A three-time All-Empire 8 selection, Trotman is a career .381 hitter with 13 home runs and 74 RBI and is 40-17 in the pitcher’s circle.
Wilcox became the first Alfred University standout in program history to earn Pitcher of the Year honors. Wilcox has enjoyed an incredible season for the Saxons, with a 16-3 record, 1.26 earned run average, 0.72 WHIP, 15 complete games, six shutouts and 219 strikeouts to just 11 walks in 127.1 innings. She has struck out at least 10 batters in a game 15 times in 18 starts this season, including a program record 15 in a two-hit shutout on April 10. Opposing batters are hitting just .172 against Wilcox this season. She is among the NCAA Division III leaders in strikeouts, strikeout-to-walk ratio and strikeouts per seven innings. A three-time All-Empire 8 selection, Wilcox is 52-27 in her career with a program record 615 strikeouts in 499.1 innings.
Wells is having an excellent debut season for the Saxons, batting .380 with a .484 slugging percentage and a 1.044 OPS to go along with 13 extra base hits, including two home runs and a team-best 30 runs batted in. Wells, a designated player, also leads Alfred with 17 walks and has added five stolen bases. Wells has reached base in 31 of 36 games played this season
Mance and her staff of assistant coaches Renee Smith and Erinn Camp led the Cardinals to a 19-1 record in regular season league play to earn the top-seed in the 2021 Empire 8 Softball Championship Tournament. St. John Fisher is 26-3 overall and ranked No. 14 in the NFCA National poll. It is the second time that Mance and her staff earned E8 Coaching Staff of the Year honors (2018) and Fisher’s fourth overall honor.
Empire 8 Champion St. John Fisher led all institutions with five first team selections, while Alfred had four picks and a trio of Russell Sage student-athletes were honored. Overall, St. John Fisher had 12 all-conference selections and 10 Alfred student-athletes were honored. St. John Fisher’s Sammie Torlish and Utica’s Madison Akots joined Trotman and Wilcox as three-time All-Empire 8 selections.
One member of each team was named that institution's representative on the 2021 Empire 8 Softball Sportswoman of the Year 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.
2021 Empire 8 Softball All-Conference Selections
Player of the Year: Emily Trotman, P/DP, St. John Fisher
Pitcher of the Year: Jessica Wilcox, Gr., P, Alfred
Rookie of the Year: Mya Wells, Fr., DP, Alfred
Coaching Staff of the Year: St. John Fisher, led by Head Coach Bari Mance
Empire 8 First Team
Megan Kreger, Sr., C, St. John Fisher
Makayla Lindsey, So., 1B, Russell Sage
Allison O’Toole, Jr., 2B, Alfred
Ashley Lugo, Jr., SS, Alfred
Abby Flakus, Jr., 3B, St. John Fisher
Sarah Simmons, Jr., OF, Nazareth
Arianna Papas, Jr., OF, Russell Sage
Allie Klonowski, So., OF, St. John Fisher
Taylor Dicranian, Jr., U, Russell Sage
Mya Wells, Fr., DP, Alfred
Emily Trotman, Sr., DP, St. John Fisher
Jessica Wilcox, Gr., P, Alfred
Jess Patterson, So., P, St. John Fisher
Empire 8 Second Team
Abby Kruse, Fr., C, Keuka
Elena Ceja, Gr., 1B, Alfred
Megan O’Keefe, Jr., 2B, Utica
Sammie Torlish, Sr., SS, St. John Fisher
Tatiana Mejia, Jr., 3B, Alfred
Alyssa Guitron, Jr., OF, Alfred
Maria Marcera, Sr., OF, St. John Fisher
Julia Phelps, Fr., OF, Utica
Helena Hill, So., U, Keuka
Rachel Evans, Jr., U, St. John Fisher
Emily Trotman, Sr., P, St. John Fisher
Whitney Tyler, Sr., P, Keuka
Empire 8 Third Team
Felicity Brockhuizen, Jr., C, Elmira
Allison Rogowski, Jr., 1B, St. John Fisher
Maddie Kildonas, Sr., 2B, St. John Fisher
Emily Joss, Jr., SS, Utica
Sara Stransky, Sr., 3B, Utica
Sydney Saucedo, Sr., OF, Alfred
Janelle Walters, Sr., OF, Nazareth
Jen Page, Fr., OF, Houghton
Madison Akots, Gr., DP, Utica
Megan Bennett, Fr., P, Alfred
Kayla Loomis, So., P, Houghton
Empire 8 Sportswoman of the Year
Moreta Dyke, Sr., U, Alfred
Paige Cring, Sr., INF, Elmira
Hannah Cybart, Sr., P/INF, Houghton
Danielle Bosch, Sr., OF, Keuka
Jessica Klem, Jr., IF, Nazareth
Taylor Dicranian, Jr., U, Russell Sage
Allie Osterhoudt, Sr., U, John Fisher
Adrian Duvall, So., U, Utica