Berry Named GNAC Softball Coach of the Year; Eight Honored
BOSTON, Mass. – For the second year in a row, Emmanuel College head softball coach Olivia Berry has been named the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Softball Coach of the Year, while eight of her players were recognized on the All-Conference and All-Sportsmanship teams it was announced by the conference office on Tuesday afternoon.
BOSTON, Mass. – For the second year in a row, Emmanuel College head softball coach Olivia Berry has been named the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Softball Coach of the Year, while eight of her players were recognized on the All-Conference and All-Sportsmanship teams it was announced by the conference office on Tuesday afternoon.
Berry becomes the first coach in program history to earn back-to-back Coach of the Year honors after guiding the Saints to a 26-12 record which included a 15-1 mark in the GNAC North Division. Emmanuel put together a program-record 20-game winning streak and earned the right to host the 2022 GNAC Softball Tournament at Roberto Clemente Field. The 26 victories tied the single-season program record and along the way, Berry picked up her 100th career win in Emmanuel's 2-1 walk-off victory over Simmons University in the GNAC tournament. Through five years and four full playing seasons at the helm, Berry has posted a 101-56 (.643) career record and has now mentored a total of 28 All-Conference players and four NFCA All-Region selections.
Sophomore shortstop Olivia Conti (Cranston, Mass.) followed up her GNAC Rookie of the Year campaign with her second consecutive GNAC First Team All-Conference nod after another incredible year. Along the way, Conti was named the GNAC Player of the Week twice as well as an NFCA Top Performer. She had a 22-game hitting streak end March 9 and during the regular season, lead the GNAC North with a .470 batting average and a .913 slugging percentage with 12 home runs to top the division while ranking second overall in the GNAC. The shortstop had 16 multi-hit games and offensively, Conti ranked in the GNAC Top-10 in total bases (1st), doubles (1st), slugging percentage (2nd), hits (4th), runs (5th), batting average (6th), on-base percentage (9th) and stolen bases (9th). Defensively she ranked fifth in total assists and fourth in double-plays turned. Conti set Emmanuel's single-season program record for home runs 12.
Over two seasons, Conti has posted a .435 average with 94 hits including 15 home runs. She's scored 71 runs, driven in 46 RBI, stolen 24 bases all while slugging at a .782 clip.
Junior pitcher Tianna Dawe (Peabody, Mass.) makes her second straight appearance on the GNAC All-Conference First Team, this time as a pitcher compared to a 2021 nod in the Designated Player spot. The starting pitcher posted a 13-5 record during the regular-season, also notching two saves to go along with a career-low 2.47 ERA and career-high 112 strikeouts. After a slow start to the year, Dawe posted a 14-0 record from March 26 through May 5 and was named the GNAC Pitcher of the Week while also appearing on the GNAC Weekly Honor Roll during that dominant stretch that featured back-to-back complete game shutouts. Dawe compiled 14 complete games ranking second in the conference in innings pitched (141.2), third in wins (14), fourth in K's (112) and fifth in ERA (2.47).
Dawe has accumulated 26 wins over her career while posting a 2.63 ERA with 194 strikeouts. She ranks second all-time in saves, third all-time in wins and fourth in strikeouts entering her senior season.
Senior first basemen Grace Orcutt (Lexington, Mass.) closes out her EC career with a First Team All-Conference nod with an explosive final season. She was named the GNAC Player of the Week & NFCA Top Performer earlier in the year and hit safely in 23 of 25 contests from April 2 through May 5 including 11 multi-hit games. The Lexington, Mass. native hit .579 (22-for-38) in April in game 2's of the 12 doubleheaders played by the Saints during a 22-2 stretch for Emmanuel that included a 20-game winning streak. At first base, she ranked second overall in the GNAC in putouts and first in double-plays turned while holding a .996 fielding percentage. She also posted a 3-0 record this year in the pitching circle.
Orcutt wraps her career with a .323 batting average ranking 14th all-time in program history. Her 95 career hits is tied for 19th all-time while she ranks tied for 10th all-time in doubles (18) and tied for sixth in home runs (13). She also ranks eight all-time in slugging (.517), T-10th in RBIs (63), and 12th in total bases (152).
Junior outfielder Jadynne Hill (Haverhill, Mass.) earned a spot on the GNAC All-Conference Second Team after a 2021 First Team and NFCA All-Region campaign. Hill was named to the GNAC Weekly Honor Roll once during her final collegiate season and put together a 10-game hitting streak from April 2-14, batting .578 during the stretch in which Emmanuel opened the start of a 20-game winning streak. Since returning from their spring training Florida trip, EC went 16-1 in games when Hill recorded at least 1 RBI or scored at least 1 run. She closed out the year batting .330 with 27 RBI, 21 runs scored and a .570 slugging percentage.
Over her Emmanuel tenure, Hill batted .348 to rank eighth all-time in program annals. She finished up with 40 RBI, 38 runs scored and a .590 slugging percentage.
First year designated player Madison Marks (Edgewater Park, N.J.) burst onto the collegiate scene with a Second Team All-Conference nod in the DP spot as well as a place on the All-Rookie Team, batting .351 over 31 games. The power-lefty smashed six home runs to rank ninth in the GNAC while her .676 slugging percentage also ranked ninth in the league. Marks enjoyed two multi-home run games over a seven-day span, blasting two bombs in a win over Simmons on April 13th as well as two more blasts in a win over Suffolk on April 20. Emmanuel posted a 16-3 record in games when Marks collected a hit this season.
Senior Kiana Hinson (Whittier, Calif.) earns a spot on the All-Conference Third Team at second base for the second consecutive season after batting .308 with a career-high 37 hits, 29 runs, 22 RBI and 11 doubles. Hinson slugged a career-best .475 over 120 at bats.
Over her collegiate career, Hinson posted a .305 average (99-for-325) over her time at both Emmanuel and Newbury College. She collected 22 doubles and five home runs while scoring 60 runs and driving in 57. She also recorded nine wins in the pitching circle with the Nighthawks as a rookie pitcher.
First year pitcher Brenna Whittaker (Cranston, R.I.) was voted to the GNAC All-Rookie Team following a strong collegiate debut in the circle. The Rhode Island native worked just under 90 innings and posted a 3.43 ERA with a 9-5 record that included seven complete games and five complete-game shutouts. Whittaker notched her first collegiate victory against Ohio Northern on March 7 and then from April 10 through May 8, closed out the season going 7-1 including a gutsy performance in the GNAC tournament to pick up the win over Saint Joseph's (ME) that allowed the Saints to advance to the GNAC Championship series. She finished with 40 strikeouts over 17 appearances.
Senior Ambur Leczel (Glendora, Calif.) rounds out the Saints represented by the GNAC, earning a spot on the 2022 GNAC All-Sportsmanship Team.
Emmanuel closed the 2022 campaign with an overall record of 26-12, tying the program record single-season wins mark. The Saints earned the No. 1 seed in the North Division with a 15-1 conference slate, hosting the 2022 GNAC Softball Tournament. EC advanced to the GNAC Championship series, earning Runner-Up honors behind Johnson & Wales.