Franklin, Decato, Saniuk earn All-NESCAC plaudits
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Katie Franklin ’07 |
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Kyla Decato ’06 |
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Stacia Saniuk ’09 |
LEWISTON, Maine — Bates junior centerfielder Katie Franklin (New Preston, Conn.) was named to the All-NESCAC Softball First Team for the second straight season on Thursday, highlighting a trio of Bobcats receiving all-conference recognition. Senior first baseman Kyla Decato (Paris, Maine) and first-year Stacia Saniuk (Sharon, Mass.), were both Second Team selections.
Saniuk, who split time at catcher and third base, was also selected as the conference Rookie of the Year.
This is the second postseason honor this week for Franklin, who on Tuesday was named First Team All-New England by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association. Starting all 32 of Bates’ games in center field, Franklin batted .365 with four home runs and 23 RBIs, and led the Bobcats with 30 runs scored. She led the NESCAC with 14 doubles and was a standout in the outfield as well, playing the entire season without committing a single error.
Decato, who earned her first All-NESCAC honors, led the team in batting, hitting .400 on the season, the fourth best mark in the NESCAC. She also paced the team in hits (40), on base percentage (.435) and was among the conference leaders in doubles as well (nine). Over the second half of the season, Decato had 10 multi-hit games and batted an astounding .529 (27 for 51) in the final 16 contests of the year. She started all 32 games for the Bobcats at first base and had an excellent .987 fielding percentage with over 310 chances.
Saniuk wasted little time becoming one of the most feared sluggers in the conference in her first collegiate season. Second in the NESCAC in home runs (9) and slugging percentage (.753), Saniuk batted .371 from the cleanup spot with a team-leading 28 RBIs and 76 total bases.
Tufts sophomore second baseman Danielle Lopez was honored as NESCAC Player of the Year in a vote of the league’s coaches, marking the sixth different Jumbo to win the award in as many years. Williams senior Clara Hard was named the NESCAC Pitcher of the Year and Ephs coach Kris Herman was selected as Coach of the Year.
View the NESCAC release here.