Softball Earns Nine All-Conference Selections
CONTACT: Adam Sopris, a.sopris@hvcc.edu, (518) 629-7898 or (518) 416-2137
FOR RELEASE: Immediate, Thursday, May 16, 2024
The Hudson Valley Community College softball program had a conference-best nine student-athletes named to the Mountain Valley All-Conference teams as announced by the Conference on Wednesday afternoon.
Moira Collins led six first team selections and was runner-up in the player of the year ballot following an outstanding season as the Vikings ace of the pitching staff. Kayden Craft, Grace Harris, Izabelle Ratcliffe, Anna Siter and Abby Taylor joins Collins on the All-Conference First Team. Reegan Mullen, Erin Madsen and Angelise Montanez were recognized on the All-Conference Second Team with Mullen earning the conference recognition as a pitcher and a position player.
Collins appeared in 16 games with 14 starts and posted an 11-5 record. In 84.1 innings pitched, Collins struck out 132 hitters, including a career-high 16 strikeouts in the Region 3 sub-regional win over Monroe Community College on May 11. Her 132 strikeouts ranks third among Region 3 pitchers. Collins surrendered 65 hits and allowed 36 runs (22 earned) and finished with an earned run average of 1.83, which ranks third in Region 3 behind a pair of Corning pitchers.
Craft had a tremendous freshman season with the Vikings as she finished the year with a .433 batting average and tallied a team-best 39 hits and a team-best .505 on-base percentage. Over the 90-at bats, Craft drove in 22 runs and scored a team-high 35 runs and added seven stolen bases with 48 total bases. Craft handled the right field assignment all season and recorded 20 putouts with only one error for a .960 fielding percentage.
Harris started the season off on a tear as she tallied at least one hit in the first 10 games of the season and she ended the year with a nine-game hitting streak, which included five multi-hit games during that span. Grace finished the year with 33 hits and hit .402 while driving in 27 runs in 27 games played. She accumulated nine extra-base hits and scored 28 runs with 44 total bases.
Ratcliffe tallied 28 hits in 81 at-bats and finished with a .346 batting average while slugging .605 with a .500 on-base percentage. To date, she leads the team with 16 extra-base hits with a team-high 12 doubles, three triples and a home run. Izzy also walked 22 times and drove in 23 RBIs and scored 32 runs with 49 total bases.
Siter is the team leader with a .439 batting average and tallied 36 hits and drove in a team-best 35 RBIs while only striking out four times in 82 at-bats. Anna accumulated eight extra-base hits with six doubles and a pair of triples over her 28 games played and scored
Taylor finished near the top of the rankings with 30 hits, 30 RBIs and a .370 batting average this season. Taylor finished second on the team with a.662 slugging percentage and collected 12 extra-base hits, including three home runs, five doubles and four triples. Abby scored 29 runs with six stolen bases and accumulated a team-high 52 total bases in 24 games played.
Madsen is the all-conference second baseman and collected 24 hits and 24 RBIs with a .348 average. Madsen was able to score 19 runs in the 25 games played. Defensively, Madsen has a .957 fielding percentage on 37 putouts this year.
Mullen was recognized with second team honors at two positions, pitcher and first base. At the plate, Mullen led the team with five home runs and hit .296 with 21 hits, 26 RBIs in 71 at-bats. Along with her five home runs, she recorded five doubles and three triples for 13 extra-base hits. Mullen also scored 21 runs and collected 47 total bases. In the pitching circle, Mullen was the team's game two starter for the majority of the season. She has a 7-3 record in 14 appearances (13 starts). Over the 53.1 innings pitched, she allowed 49 runs (31 earned) on 53 hits.
Montanez has played multiple positions for the team, but has primarily played short stop for the majority of the season. Montanez was the team's primary lead-off hitter and batted .329 with 25 hits and scored 26 runs in 27 games played.
As a result of the record number of all-conference selections combined with the team's 20-8 record amidst an active 15-game win streak, Hudson Valley's head coach, Rick Tedisco, was named the Mountain Valley Conferencer coach of the year for the third consecutive season. The coach of the year award is voted upon by his peers throughout the Mountain Valley Conference.