Grace Players Honored By League
WINONA LAKE – A trio of Grace College softball players picked up All-Crossroads League awards for their performance in the regular season.
Junior outfielder Brooke Shell and freshman Clarissa Knight were named First Team All-CL, and freshman Hannah Adams was an honorable mention for All-CL in her first season.
Additionally, Shell won a place on the CoSIDA Academic All-District team, which honors both academic and athletic achievement.
Brooke Shell highlighted Grace’s outstanding year with one of the best offensive seasons in team history. She led the Crossroads League in batting average and stolen bases for much of the regular season and currently boasts a .444 average with 37 steals.
She has already broken three single-season records for the Lady Lancers in 2014, including most hits (79), most runs (57) and most steals (37).
Clarissa Knight has impressed in her first collegiate season, batting .373 with 56 hits, 32 runs, 10 doubles, 2 triples and a team-best 43 RBIs. Knight led Grace in CL games with a .394 batting average. She also swiped 13 bases.
Hannah Adams displayed a variety of skills in her freshman campaign, batting .331 with 44 hits, 20 runs, 11 doubles, 2 homers and 36 RBIs. She also topped Grace’s pitching staff with 98.2 innings on the mound, posting a team-low 2.54 ERA in league play.
The Heather Johnson-coached Lady Lancers wrapped up the 2014 regular season with their most league wins (20) and highest finish (fourth) in team history. They also topped 20 wins in a season for the first time since 1997.
Grace will next try to qualify for the NCCAA World Series at the Midwest Regional Tournament starting May 5 in Oakland City, Ind.