Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 CCC Release

SPRINGFIELD, Mass.--Regular-season champion Western New England placed a league-high four members on the first team on the 2015 All-Commonwealth Coast Conference softball teams that were released on Friday. In addition, Lori Mayhew was selected by her peers as the CCC Coach of the Year for the first time, piloting the Golden Bears to a 24-7 overall record and 14-2 conference mark going into the final weekend before the postseason. The Golden Bears, who have been regionally ranked as high as ninth, are the No. 1 seed for the first time in their CCC history.

CCC Pitcher of the Year Lauren Zambrano was joined on the first unit by fellow senior second baseman Samantha Mulhern, junior first baseman Heather Fecteau and junior outfielder Alexis Bukowski. In addition, senior Grace Kucharski made the second team as a designated player and junior Heidi Grieger was named a third-team pitcher. The six selections represent the most for the Golden Bears in their CCC era that began in 2008, tying the 2013 squad that also produced a half-dozen conference all-stars.

Zambrano returned to her first-team all-conference form of 2013 after battling through injuries last spring. In her comeback year of 2015, the tri-captain compiled CCC bests with a 13-1 won-lost record, career-high 139 strikeouts over 100 innings and .225 opponents' batting average against. Her 2.31 earned-run average also ranks fourth. The business management and leadership major lists 12th in NCAA Division III with 9.73 strikeouts per 7 innings, which also tops the conference.

Bukowski, who was second-team all-CCC in 2013, has a team-leading and career-best 31 runs batted in to rank third in the conference. The criminal justice major also has career marks in batting average (.316), runs (15), doubles (8), on-base percentage (.378), slugging (.449) and hit-by-pitch (7, to pace the CCC).

Fecteau also is enjoying career numbers in hitting (.309), runs (17), base hits (29), doubles (8), home runs (3), RBI (24), on-base percentage (.398), slugging (.489) and walks (12). A sure-handed infielder, the pharmacy major has a .986 fielding percentage and is second in the conference in both put-outs (204) and total chances (214). She also is fifth in walks, seventh in both home runs and RBI, and ninth in doubles.

One of the finalists for the CCC player of the year award, Mulhern also has set personal records across the statistical board. She is batting .384 and getting on-base 43.4 percent of the time while ranking fourth in CCC slugging at .634. After hitting no home runs her previous three years, she has connected for a whopping six this season to top the conference. She also leads the CCC with 36 runs scored, is third in both triples (2) and totals bases (71), and seventh with 43 hits. The forensic chemistry major was a 2013 All-CCC Honorable Mention pick.

After missing the 2014 campaign to enroll in the prestigious Walt Disney Company College Internship Program, Kucharski didn't miss a beat by improving on her honorable mention all-conference status attained during her 2013 sophomore season. The business management and leadership major is batting a career-best .347 to go along with a PR-.390 on-base average. She has driven in 13 runs.

Grieger repeats on the all-conference team after earning second team honors a year ago. This season, she owns an 11-6 record with one save and a 2.21 ERA in the circle. She has tied her career best for victories in a season and her ERA is second-best in the CCC. She has walked only 25 batters in 98 innings of work. She is a forensic chemistry major.

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2015 ALL-CCC SOFTBALL TEAM
FIRST TEAM
C - Genevieve Benoit, Salve Regina, Junior
1B - Heather Fecteau, Western New England, Junior
2B - Samantha Mulhern, Western New England, Senior
3B - Sam DiBella, Endicott, Junior
SS - Nikki Bukovsky, Salve Regina, Sophomore
OF - Alexis Bukowski, Western New England, Junior
OF - Taylor Messier, Roger Williams, Junior
OF - Amanda Vallante, University of New England, Junior
DP - Mikayla Lambert, Curry, Freshman
P - Courtney Blake, Endicott, Junior
P - Lauren Zambrano, Western New England, Senior
UT - Sam Curran, Wentworth, Senior
 
SECOND TEAM
C - Liz Glavin, Wentworth, Senior
1B - Abby Lambert, University of New England, Junior
2B - Francesca Galeazzi, Salve Regina, Freshman
3B - Ariel LaRosa, Curry, Senior
SS - Kendall Meehan, Nichols, Freshman
OF - April Adams, Curry, Freshman
OF - Adrienne Chase, University of New England, Senior
OF - Jamie Corda, Endicott, Junior
DP - Grace Kucharski, Western New England, Senior
P - Taylor Ahearn, Curry, Senior
P - Nicole Parry, Salve Regina, Junior
UT - Sydney Helmbrecht, University of New England, Sophomore
 
THIRD TEAM
C - Allie Carver, Curry, Senior
1B - Emily Kline, Gordon, Freshman
2B - Julia McNeill, Endicott, Sophomore
3B - Kelly Murphy, University of New England, Junior
SS - Haley Ledbetter, Roger Williams, Freshman
OF - Chelsea Boulrisse, Roger Williams, Junior
OF - Kelly Duggan, Curry, Sophomore
OF - Kara Pepper, Gordon, Senior
OF - Vanessa Weymouth, Wentworth, Freshman
DP - Margaret Martzolf, Endicott, Freshman
P - Heidi Grieger, Western New England, Junior
P - Meghan Maliga, Roger Williams, Junior
UT - Meredith Moise, Roger Williams, Sophomore
 
INDIVIDUAL AWARDS
PLAYER OF THE YEAR - Genevieve Benoit, Salve Regina
PITCHER OF THE YEAR - Lauren Zambrano, Western New England
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR - Francesca Galeazzi, Salve Regina, and Kendall Meehan, Nichols
SENIOR SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR - Sam Curran, Wentworth
COACH OF THE YEAR - Lori Mayhew, Western New England
TEAM SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD  -  Wentworth Institute of Technology