HENNIKER, N.H. – Three members of the New England College softball team were recognized on the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) All-Conference Teams as part of the conference's postseason awards, as announced by the league office on Monday.
Senior Emma Lopez (Downey, Calif.) earned First Team All-Conference honors at catcher after leading the Pilgrims with a .425 batting average, 1.191 OPS, 48 hits, 21 doubles, 30 RBIs, a .699 slugging percentage, and a .492 on-base percentage across 36 games played. Her 21 doubles set a new NEC single-season record on April 11 against Elms. Lopez also added two home runs during her senior campaign.
Defensively, Lopez posted a .984 fielding percentage, the best mark of her four-year career, totaling 112 putouts, 14 assists, and just two errors behind the plate. She ranked among the conference leaders in nearly every major offensive category, including leading the GNAC in doubles. Her top performance came against Colby-Sawyer on March 29, when she recorded four hits, one triple, and three runs scored. Lopez earned GNAC Weekly Honor Roll recognition four times and was named GNAC Player of the Week on April 13 after batting .579 with six doubles, nine RBIs, and seven runs scored while not striking out once during the week.
Junior Abigail Grimes (Baltimore, Md.) earned Second Team All-Conference honors at first base for the second consecutive season after anchoring the Pilgrims defensively. Grimes led the team with 195 putouts while posting a .995 fielding percentage. She recorded a season-high 13 putouts on April 18 against Saint Joseph's (Maine). Offensively, Grimes reached the 100-career-hit milestone on March 31 against Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. Following her junior season, she ranks third in program history in both career fielding percentage and putouts heading into her final season next spring.
Senior Grace Giesler (La Mirada, Calif.) earned Third Team All-Conference honors, claiming one of the conference's outfield spots. Giesler started all 37 games for the Pilgrims this season and finished with 124 at-bats. She concludes her NEC career ranked second in program history in both games played (153) and at-bats (531). Her best performance of the season came on April 21 against Fitchburg State, when she totaled three hits, two doubles, three runs scored, and three RBIs. Giesler also recorded six triples this season, bringing her career total to 27 and setting a new program record after previously tying the mark last season with 21. Defensively, she totaled 76 putouts and a .976 fielding percentage, both career bests.
Rounding out the awards, senior pitcher Wren Anhalt (Brooksville, Fla.) was named to the GNAC All-Sportsmanship Team.
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