STANDISH, ME - The 2012 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Softball postseason awards have been released and six Saint Joseph's College players have been honored.
Senior center fielder Emily Leverone (Hampton, N.H./Winnacunnet) has garnered First Team accolades for the fourth consecutive season, sophomore shortstop Lindsay Moore (Barrington, N.H./Dover) is a First Team honoree for the second straight year, and sophomore outfielder/pitcher Theresa Hendrix (Scarborough, Maine/Cheverus) has been listed on the All-GNAC First Team as a utility player.
Senior catcher Maria Labbe (Lewiston, Maine/Lewiston) and junior infielder Heather Tripp (Lovell, Maine/Fryeburg Academy) have both earned Second Team mention while senior pitcher Maddie Kluna (Standish, Maine/Bonny Eagle) is listed on the Third Team.
One of the best players to ever don a Monks' uniform, Leverone currently leads the team in batting average (.435, 54-124), hits (54), doubles (15), home runs (9), RBI (40) and total bases (96) and ranks as the GNAC all-time leader in career hits (254), at bats (541), doubles (65), runs (166), RBI (209).
The four-year standout owns 21 program records, including the career marks for games (170), at bats, runs, hits, doubles, home runs (36), total bases (447), slugging percentage (.826) and OPS (1.326).
Moore has proven to be solid with the bat and the glove through two impressive collegiate seasons. She is currently hitting .390 (46-118) with a team high 45 runs, 13 doubles, three triples, six homers, 38 RBI and eight stolen bases and, with only four errors in 158 chances, sports a spectacular .975 fielding percentage as the Monks' starting shortstop.
Hendrix, a four-time GNAC Rookie of the Week selection, is enjoying a tremendous year for the Royal Blue. As a hitter, the sophomore paces the Monks in triples (7), slugging (.798) and OBP (.492) and is currently batting .422 (46-109) with 31 runs, 12 doubles, five home runs, 32 RBI, and four stolen bases. Also a talented hurler, Hendrix is 4-0 with a 1.22 ERA and has fanned 27 batters with only 10 hits and four walks allowed in 28.2 innings in the circle. She produced one of the season's most memorable games to date when she tossed the first seven-inning perfect game in program history in a 2-0 victory over Saint Joseph (Conn.) on April 21st.
Labbe, a steady force in the middle of the SJC lineup, is hitting .376 (38-101) with 20 runs, five doubles, three long balls and 32 RBI as the Monks' primary catcher this spring. She has posted career-highs in nearly every offensive category as a senior.
Tripp has been a consistent contributor while serving as the Monks' cleanup hitter in all 40 contests this season. The junior is hitting .359 (42-117) with 28 runs, 10 doubles, two homers and 27 RBI and has developed a knack for coming through with the big hit in key situations.
Saint Joseph's, 33-7 overall and 23-3 in GNAC play this under the watch of 15th-year Head Coach Jamie Smyth '92 spring, captured the program's second-consecutive conference championship when the second-seeded Monks defeated #1 Emerson College, 6-2, in the GNAC Tournament title game on Sunday afternoon. With the championship, St. Joe's earns an automatic qualifier into the NCAA tourney, which begins next week.
