CARMEL, Ind. - After a phenomenal regular season your Mount St. Joseph University Softball team swept their competition in the HCAC Tournament and were crowned champions last weekend. To follow an impressive 17-game win streak 8 Lions were recognized for their performance this season as they were rewarded with All-HCAC Honors. The Lions had 5 All-Conference First Team athletes, 2 All-Conference 2nd Team athletes, and 1 All-Conference Honorable Mention.
First, the 5 First Team All-Conference Athletes were
Casey Bramble (West Chester, Ohio/Lakota West),
Maiah Hodge (Fairfield Twp., Ohio/Fairfield),
Kamryn McCool (Brookville, Ind./Franklin Co.),
Sarah Miller (Fishers, Ind./St. Theodore Guerin), and
Alehia Tucker (Covington, Ky./Holy Cross).
Bramble took a big step forward this season and was the Lions primary starting left fielder. She hit .370 on the year while adding 2 home runs, 1 triple, 5 doubles and knocking in 13 runs. Bramble started 26 of the 28 games she appeared in and was also productive in the field. Bramble posted a .927 fielding percentage this season. Next,
Maiah Hodge shot into the scene as a freshman. Hodge was the Lions primary 2nd baseman this year and her play down the stretch gave her the nod for a First Team All-Conference selection. Hodge hit .377 on the year while adding 1 triple, 4 doubles, while batting in 11 runs. Hodge started all 36 games she appeared in this season and was tremendous defensively. Hodge only made 1 error on the season ending with a .989 fielding percentage.
Kamryn McCool was an ace in the Lions 2-player pitching rotation this season. McCool finished the season with a league leading 1.12 ERA over 119 innings pitched. McCool also set a school record for single-season strikeouts with 158 while holding her opposing batters to just a .170 batting average. She finished the season with a 13-4 record while also recording 3 saves. This is the second time McCool has been honored in the HCAC, when she was a freshman McCool was a 2nd Team All-HCAC athlete. Next, was the other half on this star-studded Mount rotation,
Sarah Miller. Miller was absolutely dominant this season in the circle. She finished the season with a 2.60 ERA and a 16-3 record. She recorded 99 strikeouts on the season and this was only half of what she could do. Miller was also the Lions primary clean-up hitter and was great in the box this season. She hit .352 on the year while adding 5 home runs, 7 doubles and knocking in 32 runners. Thanks to her outstanding performance in the HCAC Tournament she was named the MVP of the Tournament. This is Miller's 3rd time being awarded First Team All-HCAC Honors.
Alehia Tucker earned her First-Team All-HCAC selection due to her record-breaking year. Tucker stole 28 bases this year bringing her career number to 96 stolen bases which is a school record and she also hit 18 doubles this year bringing her career number to 45 doubles, another school record. In her outstanding season Tucker hit .450 while adding 7 home runs, 4 triples, 18 doubles and 30 runs batted in, she did this all from the leadoff spot in the lineup. Tucker has been the starting shortstop for her career at The Mount and brought amazing defensive play to her resume as well. Tucker only made two errors on the season ending with a .983 fielding percentage. This is Tucker's 3rd time being recognized by the conference as she made the 2nd Team All-HCAC in both 2018 and 2019.
Next, the two 2nd Team All-HCAC athletes were
Kaci Finchum (Mooresville, Ind./Center Grove) and
Rachel Gabbard (Fort Thomas, Ky./Highlands). Finchum was very impressive in her first season as a Lion. She hit .286 on the year adding 5 doubles and 7 RBIs to her total. Finchum was a staple for the Lions defense this season as she started 37 of the Lions 38 games while only recording 2 errors giving her a .975 fielding percentage. Gabbard was tremendous in her 2nd season for the Lions. She hit an outstanding .418 while adding 2 home runs, 9 doubles and 20 RBIs. Gabbard started 35 games for the Lions this season and made only 1 error giving her a .975 fielding percentage.
Finally,
Gracie Woodyard (Plainfield, Ind./Avon) capped off her senior year with an All-Conference Honorable Mention nod. Woodyard was productive from the box this year hitting .320 with 4 home runs, 1 triple, 3 doubles, and 24 RBIs. Woodyard was the Lions primary right fielder starting 35 games this year while only making 2 errors bringing her fielding percentage to an impressive .952. This is Woodyard's 2nd All-Conference nod as she was named to 2nd Team All-Conference in 2019.
