2015 SOFTBALL SEASON IN REVIEW

BOSTON, Mass. – The 2015 Emmanuel College Softball season will go down in the record books as the most successful campaign to date, winning a program-record 20 games and advancing to the GNAC Semifinals but don't be surprised if this year is just the start as the Saints plan to return their entire roster plus a strong recruiting class in 2016.

The year got off to a great start despite some travel woes getting down to Cape Coral, Florida that caused the Saints to miss a few of their scheduled spring break trip games. Once the squad was in the sunshine state, it was all business as Emmanuel jumped out of the gates with a 3-0 record, posting wins over Eastern Nazarene and Curry College followed by an incredible 7-5 victory over No. 15 Montclair State University for the program's first win over a nationally ranked program.

The Saints would go on to post wins over Mount Mary and Rockford to return back home with a 5-3 record on the trip, marking the first time in program history that an Emmanuel team returned home from a spring break week with an above .500 record.

After 17 idle days during the worst winter in Boston history, the squad returned to action on March 29 to open GNAC play with a pair of wins over Anna Maria College. It didn't stop there as they rattled off a doubleheader sweep the following afternoon vs. Rivier University to close out the month of March with a 9-3 record and a 4-0 start in conference action.

The Saints opened April with three GNAC splits against quality competition, splitting series with Simmons, Johnson & Wales and Norwich. In a 4-0 win over Simmons, EC sophomore ace Jill Kilcoyne (Worcester, Mass.) tossed a complete game shutout, allowing just one hit while striking out 12 in the win.

On April 11, EC faced the defending GNAC Champions in Saint Joseph's College (ME) and gave the Monks all they could handle but ended up falling in both contests by one run (3-2 & 2-1). The same weekend, the Saints earned GNAC splits with University of Saint Joseph (CT) as well as Mount Ida College to give the team a 14-12 overall record and 9-7 mark in the GNAC. In the win over USJ, junior shortstop Catherine Davis (Wethersfield, Conn.) went 4-for-4 with four RBI in a 9-5 win.

Heading into the final weekend of GNAC play, Emmanuel needed a few more wins to secure a playoff spot and they got them in a big way, posting a twinbill sweep over Suffolk University who at the time was in first place in the conference. EC registered a 3-2 win in game-one behind a strong hitting performance by junior Kerrianne Vulpis (East Rockaway, N.Y.) who went 2-for-3 with three RBI while Kilcoyne earned the win in the circle, striking out eight. In game two, sophomore Samantha Adams (Sanford, Maine) tossed a gem, allowing one run on six hits while striking out five in a 5-1 win fueled by a 3-for-3 performance by sophomore Erin Walsh (Granby, Conn.).

In the regular season finale against Lasell, EC needed one win to secure a home playoff game and they got it with a 1-0 win over Lasell in a complete game shutout by Kilcoyne.

The Saints earned the No. 6 seed in the GNAC tourney and played host to No. 7 University of Saint Joseph (CT) in a single loss elimination Quarterfinal round. Emmanuel put together some magic in the final inning, walking off with a 1-0 win to advance to the GNAC Semifinals for the first time since 2004. Adams delivered the RBI single in the bottom of the seventh and Kilcoyne pitcher her second straight and fourth complete game shutout of the year.

In the double-elimination Semifinals round, the Saints gave a valiant effort, going 2-2 with wins over Saint Joseph's (ME) and Simmons but ultimately ended the year with an overall record of 20-17.

Kilcoyne and Davis were tabbed GNAC First Team All-Conference selections and also selected to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) First Team All-Region squad.

Kilcoyne was named the GNAC Pitcher of the Year as the sophomore hurler struck out an incredible 183 batters this season, 80 more than the next best pitcher in the league.  Her 183 K's ranked Kilcoyne 11th nationally with 9.7 strikeouts per seven innings.  Kilcoyne also posted the lowest earned-run-average in the GNAC with her 1.59 ERA.  Emmanuel's ace threw 16 complete games and rolled to a record of 13-7 on the year.

Davis led the Saints offensively with her .427 batting average, 4.86 on-base-percentage and .669 slugging percentage.  Davis' batting average ranked her 6th among the GNAC leaders and her total of 53 hits this season ranked 3rd in the GNAC. Her 13 doubles ranked her 2nd in the league, while her five homers fell into 5th among the GNAC's top sluggers.

With no seniors on the 2015 roster, the Saints will continue to work towards the program's first GNAC title in 2016.