Long & Hill Tabbed to NFCA All-New England Team
LOUISVILLE, Ky. ? Senior pitcher Megan Long (Greenville, R.I.) and sophomore outfielder Jadynne Hill (Haverhill, Mass.) were named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) NCAA Division III All-New England Team, it was announced on May 19, 2021 by the NFCA.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Senior pitcher Megan Long (Greenville, R.I.) and sophomore outfielder Jadynne Hill (Haverhill, Mass.) were named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) NCAA Division III All-New England Team, it was announced on May 19, 2021 by the NFCA.
This marks the first time since 2015 that Emmanuel had multiple representatives on the All-Region team in the same year, matching the feat of when Catherine Davis '16 and Jill Kilcoyne '17 garnered NFCA All-Region First Team honors six years ago. Since then, Olivia Burgos '18 earned NFCA All-Region Second Team honors in 2018 and Yuleska Ramirez-Tejeda '20 earned NFCA All-Region Third Team honors in 2019.
Long earns All-Region accolades on the heels of her GNAC Pitcher of the Year and First Team All-Conference honors following a dominant season in the circle, boasting an 11-2 record with a 1.62 ERA and 103 strikeouts to lead the GNAC in wins, K's and rank second in ERA among pitchers with at least 40 innings logged. During her senior season, Long pitched the program's first-ever perfect game on April 17 vs. Anna Maria and also tossed a complete-game shutout in Game 1 of the GNAC Championship series to blank Johnson & Wales, 8-0. She followed that performance up in the NCAA tournament with a victory over No. 12 Christopher Newport University for the program's first NCAA victory. The senior becomes just the second pitcher in program history to earn All-Region honors, joining Kilcoyne '17 in the elite club.
Over her career, Long compiled a 13-4 record with one save and a 2.45 ERA while striking out 118 batters over 120 innings pitched.
Hill earns NFCA All-Region Third Team honors after appearing on the GNAC All-Conference First Team following a standout season with the Saints, batting .397 on the year to rank ninth in the GNAC while adding a .493 on-base percentage (3rd in GNAC) and a .655 slugging percentage (5th in GNAC). Her in-conference numbers were even better as the left fielder slugged 1.190 (2nd in GNAC) to go along with a .524 batting average and a .621 OBP over 10 regular-season GNAC contests to help the Saints clinch the top seed in the GNAC postseason tournament. Hill also led the Saints while ranking tied for third in the conference with four home runs and finished the slate with 17 runs scored, 13 RBI and a team-high 10 walks.
Emmanuel capped the 2021 season with an overall mark of 21-6 which included a 9-1 record in GNAC play during the regular-season. The Saints went on to post a 4-0 record in the GNAC postseason, capturing the program's first GNAC Championship to advance to the NCAA Division III Softball tournament where they topped No. 12 Christopher Newport University, 3-2, in their tourney debut before falling to No. 15 Emory & Henry, 5-1 and Cedar Crest, 4-3, to close out a remarkable run. The Saints had 10 players named to the GNAC All-Conference team which also included Coach of the Year honors for Olivia Berry, Pitcher of the Year honors for Long and Rookie of the Year honors for Olivia Conti (Cranston, R.I.).
All-Region players are nominated and selected by NFCA member coaches in each of the eight Division III regions. First team All-Region choices are eligible for selection to the NFCA All-America team, which were announced the evening of May 24 online at NFCA.org and in person at the NCAA Division III Championship banquet in Salem, Va.