The #25 Middlebury softball team raked in all-conference recognition as the NESCAC announced its yearly awards. Kristyn Carroll was tabbed the player of the year and head coach Kelly Bevere and assistants Raeanna Dunn and Lilah Desabrais were named the coaching staff of the year. Carroll also grabbed a spot on the all-conference first team, while Emily Dowd, Olivia Fleming and Jen Westphal logged second-team recognition.

HONOREE HIGHLIGHTS

• Carroll (Player of the Year & First Team)
  • Carroll joins Melanie Mandell '21 and Noelle Ruschil '22 as the third Panther to win player of the year.
  • She has had a stellar campaign, hitting .510 with a career-high 73 hits and a .748 slugging percentage.
  • Earlier this season, the senior became the program record holder in total at-bats (485), hits (236) and runs scored (177).
  • She has had two or more hits in 24 games this season and has reached base in 12 consecutive contests.
  • Carroll is the first player in program history to be named to the All-NESCAC First Team in four consecutive campaigns.
• Dowd (Second Team)
  • Dowd logs her first all-conference honor.
  • The rookie has been a force in the circle, posting a 13-1 mark and a 2.34 earned run average (ERA) over 23 appearances. 
  • Dowd sits third in single-season strikeouts (101) over 104.2 frames.
  • She went 16 innings strong during the NESCAC Tournament, surrendering four earned runs and fanning 14 to help propel the program to its second conference title.
• Fleming (Second Team)
  • The All-NESCAC nod is the first for Fleming.
  • Over 37 contests, the sophomore has logged a .333 batting average, recorded 34 hits and crossed home 30 times.
  • Defensively, Fleming slots third on the squad with 63 assists against just three miscues.
  • The infielder lifted a solo home run in the top of the sixth inning of the NESCAC Championship game to help seal a 7-5 triumph over Williams.
• Westphal (Second Team)
  • Westphal is awarded her initial all-conference recognition.
  • The senior has posted a banner campaign, sitting second on the team with 42 hits and pacing the program with 40 runs batted in.
  • She has had two hits in three of the last four contests.
  • The Panther smacked a walk-off roundtripper over the left-field fence in the 11th inning of a marathon 6-4 victory against Colby in the conference semifinals. She also scored the go-ahead run in a 3-2 extra-innings affair with Bates in the quarterfinals.
• Bevere, Dunn and Desabrais (Coaching Staff of the Year)
  • It marks the second time that the Panther staff has earned the league honor.
  • Bevere won coach of the year in 2011.
  • This season, the trio has guided the squad to a program-record 33 victories and its second NESCAC title. The 33 triumphs mark the most by a Middlebury program in a single season across any sport.
  • The squad enters the NCAA Tournament on a seven-game winning streak.

The Panthers received the automatic qualifier to the NCAA postseason. They head to Massachusetts for the regional round hosted by Tufts, squaring off against Muhlenberg on Thursday at 1:30 p.m.