STANDISH, Maine – The 2023 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) softball postseason honors have been announced and four members of the Saint Joseph's College program have earned honors.
Head Coach Jamie Smyth '92 has been selected as the GNAC Coach of the Year, senior first baseman Olivia Howe (Arundel, Maine) has garnered GNAC Offensive Player of the Year and First Team All-GNAC honors, senior pitcher Meredith Pence (Remington, Va.) has earned First Team All-Conference accolades, and sophomore third basemen Sylvia Foley (Scarborough, Maine) is listed on the Third Team.
Smyth, who just completed his 26th season at the helm, led the Monks to a 21-18 overall record with an 8-2 mark in GNAC play en route to claiming the #2 seed in the North Division for the GNAC Tournament. The Monks opened the tourney with a 3-1 victory over #3N Emmanuel College on Thursday, May 4th before suffering losses to eventual GNAC Champion #1N Simmons University and #2N Lasell University.
In 26 seasons, Coach Smyth has posted a 578-402 (.590) career record, including a 230-74 (.757) mark in GNAC play, with eight championships to his credit. The Coach of the Year honor is the fourth GNAC award and ninth coaching accolade of his college career overall.
Howe becomes the first player in SJC softball history to be selected as the GNAC Player of the Year after hitting .463 (56-121) with 22 runs, 11 doubles, two triples, three home runs, and 25 RBI while starting all 39 of the Monks' games this spring. She capped her senior season ranked second in the conference in slugging percentage (.661), third in batting average and OBP (.507), and fourth in hits (56) and total bases (80).
Her 2023 batting average ranks as the fourth-highest in program history while her .507 OBP is tied for ninth all time at Saint Joseph's.
For her career, Howe hit .415 (122-294) with 54 runs, 25 doubles, three triples, four home runs, and 56 RBI in two full seasons and a pair of pandemic-shortened campaigns (99 games). She leaves the program ranked fourth in career batting average and OBP (.481) and fifth in slugging percentage (.561).
A 2022 Second Team All-GNAC selection, Pence claims First Team honors after leading the conference in ERA (1.57) and shutouts (3) while ranking third in strikeouts (101), fourth in strikeouts per game (6.61) and opponent's batting average (.206), fifth in wins (12), and sixth in complete games (12).
In 53 career appearances – including 43 starts – Pence registered a 26-15 record with a 2.30 ERA while striking out 255 batters and yielding 232 hits in 277.1 innings. She is currently ranked second in team history in strikeouts per game (6.44), fourth in opponent's batting average (.225), and fifth in strikeouts.
Foley takes home Third Team All-Conference accolades after hitting .336 (40-119) with 17 runs, five doubles, a home run, and 23 RBI while starting all 39 games for the Monks this spring. A great clutch hitter, Foley also established herself as one of the elite defensive third basemen in the GNAC during her sophomore season, as she made just three errors in 123 total chances for a .976 fielding percentage at the hot corner.
