Gurska named as Player of the Year Top 50
Lindsay Gurska has been named to the Schutt Sports/National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division III Player of Year Top 50.
Senior Lindsay Gurska along with juniors Ama Biney and Nina Murphy-Cook are among the Schutt Sports/National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division III Player of Year Top 50. Now in its second year, the watch list will be pared down as the season progresses until one player remains. Biney and Murphy-Cook have the distinction of being chosen for a second time.
Gurska, the NEWMAC Player of the Year, Academic All-American and All-New England selection, led the Engineers with seven home runs and 45 RBI to go along with a .388 batting average, a .612 slugging percentage, 59 hits, including 18 for extra bases and 37 runs scored. Behind the dish, Lindsay touted a .997 fielding percentage (305-of-306). She hit safely in 36 of 47 games and notched more than one in 16 contests. Gurska enjoyed a five-game multi-hit streak the second week of April and had a 4-for-4 game in the second game at Wheaton on March 26. Her RBI single in the eighth inning against Tufts ensured the Engineers a spot in the Medford Regional title round.
Biney, a third team Academic All-American, sported an Engineer-best .639 slugging percentage, 16 doubles, three triples and a league-best 52 runs. She also batted .388 with 57 total hits and 35 RBI while touting a perfect fielding (72-of-72) and stolen base (30-of-30) percentage and was second in doubles and stolen bases among NEWMAC student-athletes. The local product legged out the game-winning single to claim the NEWMAC crown and added to her conference trophy case after garnering first-team All-NEWMAC honors this winter for the Crimson and Gray championship women’s basketball team. The local product hit .645 with two homers, four doubles and two triples en route to NFCA DIII and NEWMAC Player of the Week accolades after joining softball about to depart for Florida after playing in NCAA tournament the day before.
Murphy-Cook, a NFCA DIII Second Team All-America, paced the Boynton Hillers with a .456 average with a NEWMAC-leading 77 hits in 169 at-bats (182 appearances) and 48 stolen bases in addition to a .509 slugging percentage, five extra base hits and 42 runs scored. Nationally, Murphy Cook ranked third in stolen bases and stolen bases per game (1.02). The West Coast native ended the season with a 20-game hitting streak that included a trio of hits in three games and four in six more, and a pair in each of the last four games.
Hinojosa to play softball at Assumption College
The Assumption College Department of Athletics has announced that Ally Hinojosa, of Revere, has earned a coveted spot on the 2017 Assumption College Softball team. Hinojosa, Class of 2020, will compete during the Greyhounds’ spring season, which begins with a 12-game series in Claremont, FL, March 5-12.
“It is always exciting for the challenge that a new season presents. We ended last season on a great note making it through to the second round of conference playoffs,†said second-year head coach Katie Bettencourt. “I am excited to see how we grow from those experiences. We have a tough non-conference schedule that will prepare us for the battle in the NE-10. This schedule will help us get ready for the postseason. I know we can do it and it’ll be fun to watch and see how everyone steps up to the challenge. We are excited to get the year going and to open the season in Florida in March.â€
Last season, the Hounds went 19-21 overall and 15-10 in conference play, earning them a spot in the Northeast-10 Tournament. Assumption hosted Merrimack and defeated the Warriors 3-2 to advance to the second round, where they were defeated by Le Moyne, ending the Hounds’ season.
