STANDISH, Maine – The 2024 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) softball postseason honors have been released and five Saint Joseph's College team members have earned accolades.
Head Coach Jamie Smyth '92 headlines the Monks' honorees after being named as the GNAC Coach of the Year, by vote of his peers, for the fifth time since the 2010 campaign.
Sophomore catcher Chantelle Bouchard (Biddeford, Maine) and second-year shortstop Charlotte Cloutier (Lewiston, Maine) have claimed First Team All-Conference honors while junior third baseman Sylvia Foley (Scarborough, Maine) has earned Second Team All-GNAC accolades, senior utility player Lydia Goodnough (Kennebunkport, Maine) is listed on the Third Team, and freshman infielder Kryslin Stearns (Concord, N.H.) has garnered GNAC All-Rookie Team honors.
With a 2-11 record in early April, Coach Smyth led Saint Joseph's to a 14-5 record during the rest of the month to earn the #1 seed in the GNAC North Division and earn the right to host throughout the conference tournament.
Hosting a four-team pod during the first weekend of GNAC tourney play, the Monks won all three of their games to advance to the GNAC Championship, which took place at Richard W. Bailey Field the following weekend. Facing Simmons University, the #3 seed in the North Division, Saint Joseph's won the first game by a 5-0 margin, but suffered a pair of losses the following day as the Sharks won the best-of-three series, 2-1.
The winningest coach in SJC softball program history, Smyth (599-420, .588) ranks third in SJC Athletics in career victories and has guided the Monks to eight championships during his time in the dugout. Coach Smyth has led Saint Joseph's to 22 winning seasons and at least 30 victories six times.
Bouchard earned First Team All-Conference accolades after hitting .409 (52-127) with 33 runs, 14 doubles, 13 home runs, 48 RBI and three stolen bases during her sophomore season. She established a new SJC single-season home run record and led the GNAC in doubles, home runs, RBI, total bases (105), and slugging percentage (.827). She also ranked fourth in hits (52), fifth in batting average and runners caught stealing (6), seventh in OBP (.465), and ninth in runs scored.
Bouchard, who missed all but a few games due to injury as a freshman, etched her name in the SJC record book with her impressive numbers this spring, as her 2024 totals rank among the most elite in team history. She is third in extra base hits (27), slugging percentage, and total bases, fourth in OPS (1.292), and fifth in RBI.
Cloutier claims the first All-Conference nod of her career after hitting .409 (38-93) with 17 runs, five doubles, 15 RBI, and a .476 OBP. She capped the season tied for fifth (with Bouchard) in batting average and fifth in OBP while anchoring the SJC infield with a stellar .957 fielding percentage – having made only six errors in 138 total chances from the shortstop position.
A 2023 Third Team All-GNAC selection, Foley earns Second Team honors after hitting .298 (39-131) with 20 runs, eight doubles, a triple, 22 RBI, and three stolen bases. In 115 career games, Foley has hit .309 (110-356) with 51 runs, 18 doubles, two triples, one home run, 64 RBI, and eight stolen bases.
Goodnough takes home All-Conference honors for the second-consecutive season after posting one of the best all-around seasons by a two-way player in recent program history. During her senior season, Goodnough hit .308 (32-104) with 25 runs, seven doubles, two triples, 17 RBI, and four stolen bases at the plate while posting a 10-6 record with a 3.10 ERA and 69 strikeouts in 110.2 innings in the circle. She ranked sixth in the GNAC in opponents' batting average (.229), and eighth in strikeouts, appearances (23), and wins.
For her career, Goodnough posted a .315 (113-359) with 73 runs, 24 doubles, nine triples, two home runs, 68 RBI, and 24 stolen bases in 121 games. Prior to her senior year, the southpaw had tossed just 1.2 innings in two appearances, both during her freshman season.
Stearns collects GNAC All-Rookie Team accolades after hitting .324 (23-71) with six runs, three doubles, two home runs, and 14 RBI in 28 contests as a freshman.
Saint Joseph's posted a 21-18 overall record with a 13-4 mark in conference play during the 2024 season.
