MARLBOROUGH, Mass. – Wheaton College (Mass.) softball player Juliette Zito (Woodbridge, Conn.) earned First Team All-Conference honors, while Peyton Blankenheim-Brown (Rio Linda, Calif.), Emma Boucher (Derry, N.H.), Sofia De La Rosa (Middle Village, N.Y.) and Ella Molinari (Grafton, Mass.) were named to the Second Team, it was announced by the NEWMAC.
The number of All-Conference honorees for the Lyons is the highest count since 2015.
Zito earns All-Conference honors for the third time after being named to the Second Team in 2022 and the First Team last year. The senior becomes the first Lyon to earn the honor three times since Kelly Welch '16 and Emma Hart '16 were both tabbed for the third time in 2016. Zito is the first Wheaton softball player to earn First Team status multiple times since Hart was selected in both 2015 and 2016. The senior was the best lead-off hitter in the conference and one of the best in the region after batting .412 (61-148) to rank fifth among all league leaders and leading the NEWMAC with 93 total bases as a testament to her unique combination of power and speed from the top of the lineup. Zito reached base 49.3% of the time when leading off an inning. The left fielder stole 23 bases to place fourth in the conference, while being caught just three times. In addition, she led the circuit with a school-record seven triples, which also puts her ninth in NCAA Division III. Zito's name can be found throughout the conference leaders, ranking second in runs scored with 42 and third with 61 hits, which ranks 35th in Division III. She smacked 12 doubles to place seventh, while owning a .628 slugging percentage to put her fourth along with a .444 on-base average to place her 10th in the league. Zito's 1.072 on-base percentage plus slugging percentage (OPS) mark was also good for fifth in the league. The Amity Regional High School product started all 43 games and was among the toughest in the region to strike out, going down on strikes just eight times in 162 plate appearances for a rate of once every 20.3 plate appearances. Despite limited RBI opportunities as a lead-off batter, Zito took advantage of those chances as evidenced by a staggering .563 (18-32) batting mark with runners in scoring position that translated to 28 runs batted in to rank third on the team and 12th in the league. The Business & Management and Psychology double major led the Lyons with 20 multi-hit games, while knocking in multiple runs on eight occasions. Zito reached base via a hit or walk in 36 of 43 games and enjoyed a pair of six-game hitting streaks, including a stretch from March 28 to April 4, where she batted .591 (13-22) with seven RBI, a double, a triple, a home run and five stolen bases.
For her career, Zito started 155 of 158 games that she appeared in, while hitting .328 or better in all four years for a .365 (199-545) career batting mark. She finishes her tenure at Wheaton ranking third with 13 triples, fourth with 46 doubles, seventh with 286 total bases and 54 stolen bases, ninth with 199 hits, 10th with 137 runs scored and sixth with 545 at-bats.
Blankenheim-Brown earns Second Team honors as a utility player for the second straight season. The junior was among the best pitchers and hitters in the conference. In the circle, the right-hander posted a 1.76 earned run average to rank third among league hurlers and was fifth in the league with four shutouts, despite missing time with an injury. Blankenheim-Brown's control was impeccable, issuing just 13 walks for the fewest allowed for any NEWMAC pitcher with 99 or more innings pitched. She held opposing batters to just a .242 (93-384) batting mark and was 15th in the conference with 58 strikeouts, while completing 10 starts to stand ninth in the league. The Mira Loma High School graduate recorded a 10-5 record to put her eighth among league leaders in victories and tossed 99 ? innings to rank 14th. Two of her wins came in the NEWMAC Tournament, including a seven-hit shutout against Worcester Polytechnic Institute on May 7. She allowed just one unearned run over a two-day period that saw her strike out eight batters against both DeSales University and Loras College on March 12 and 13, respectively. Blankenheim-Brown made 16 starts as a pitcher, but also made 19 starts at first base for the Lyons. She hit .327 (36-110) for the season and was ninth in the NEWMAC with 30 RBI and 11th with three home runs. The Business & Management major also smacked 10 doubles to stand 12th and legged out a pair of triples to place 14th. Her extra-base knocks contributed to a .536 slugging percentage to rank her 13th in the league, while her 59 total bases put her 18th. Blankenheim-Brown tied for the team lead with eight multi-RBI efforts, including a four-RBI outing at Smith College, that included a double and a homer on April 4. She was excellent defensively for Wheaton as well, committing just one error in 143 chances for a .993 fielding mark.
Blankenheim-Brown's career 1.87 earned run average places her sixth in program history. She has made 24 appearances, including 21 starts and compiled a 13-8 record. The West Coast native has fanned 85 batters in 138 ? innings pitched, while recording five shutouts. In the batter's box she boasts a .338 (71-210) lifetime batting average to go with a .500 slugging mark and a .407 on-base percentage. She has knocked in 43 runs, smacked 18 doubles, collected a pair of triples and rounded the bases for four home runs.
Boucher was voted to the Second Team as a utility player as well to give Wheaton both utility spots on the second unit. The sophomore split time almost exactly even between playing third base and as one of the team's two catchers. A graduate of Pinkerton Academy, Boucher played 18 games at the hot corner and 19 behind the plate. She started all 37 games that she appeared in and batted .224 (22-98) for the season with a pair of doubles, five runs batted in and nine runs scored. The second-year player stole a pair of bases and drew nine walks as part of a .309 on-base percentage. Boucher really took to the sixth spot in the batting order, putting together a .324 (12-37) batting mark with a pair of doubles. The Biochemistry major responded to pressure situations as well, boasting a .281 (9-32) batting average with runners in scoring position.
Boucher has started all 43 games that she's made an appearance in, while posting a .214 (22-103) batting clip to go with five RBI, nine runs scored and a pair of doubles.
De La Rosa enjoyed a breakout season and was tabbed to the Second Team as the other half of the Lyons' one-two punch from the pitching circle. The sophomore proved to be one of the most durable pitchers in the conference, tossing 130 ? innings for the fourth-most in the league, while twirling 17 complete games to rank 30th in NCAA Division III and second in the NEWMAC. She posted a 14-7 record to rank fourth in the league circuit for wins and owned a 1.99 ERA to rank eighth among conference leaders. De La Rosa established herself as one of the best power pitchers in the conference, striking out eight or more batters nine times, including a season-high of 14 on March 9 in a four-hit shutout over Utica University. The Archbishop Molloy graduate fanned 127 batters for the third-highest mark in the league and the 10th-most in program history. Her strikeout count also ranks her 42nd in NCAA Division III. A Business & Management major, De La Rosa spun seven shutouts to lead the NEWMAC and rank 16th in the nation, while putting her ninth in the school's all-time single-season record book. She was among the toughest pitchers to face, holding opponents to a .248 (126-508) batting clip to place 11th in the NEWMAC. Da La Rosa got off to a hot start with a pair of shutouts to open the season, allowing just five hits and no walks to go with 22 strikeouts in those two outings and was named the NEWMAC Pitcher of the Week on March 10. The second-year phenom did not allow more than two walks in any of her first eight starts to begin the campaign and fanned eight or more batters in each of her first six starts. She shined in her final outing of the year, striking out nine batters, while allowing just five hits, no walks and one earned run over seven frames in the NEWMAC Tournament against United States Coast Guard Academy on May 8.
Da La Rosa is 15-7 in her two seasons in Norton and owns a 2.07 ERA in 24 appearances, including 23 starts. She has 18 complete game and has recorded 132 strikeouts in 142 innings pitched, while holding opponents to a .244 batting mark.
Molinari is a Second Teamer after starting all 43 games at shortstop for Wheaton. She was among the top run-producers in the league with 32 RBI to place seventh, while owning a .409 (54-132) batting mark to rank seventh in the NEWMAC. The sophomore hit .423 (22-52) with runners in scoring position and was an integral part of the Lyons' ability to keep rallies alive with a .420 (21-50) batting clip with two outs, while knocking in a team-high 10 runs with two outs. She was fourth in the league with 78 total bases and fifth with 54 hits. The Grafton High School product belted 12 doubles and three triples to stand eighth in the conference in both categories. Her .456 on-base percentage was the eighth-highest figure in the league, while her .591 slugging mark placed her eighth as well. Molinari posted a 1.047 OPS to rank eighth and scored 26 times to place her 17th in the NEWMAC. Her ability to get on base made her one of the most reliable hitters in the league as evidenced by hitting safely in 35 of 43 games. Molinari registered 16 multi-hit games and strung together a season-long nine-game hitting streak from March 25 to April 6, where she batted .467 (14-30) with three doubles, three triples, a homer and nine RBI. The middle infielder was also named the NEWMAC Player of the Week on April 7.
Molinari is hitting .365 (89-244) in 81 career games, while starting all but two of them. She also has two home runs, 45 RBI, 10 stolen bases, 89 hits and 48 runs scored, while maintaining a .434 on-base average.
The Lyons finished the season with a 28-15 record, including 10-10 in conference play, for their highest season win total since 2015 and won three games in the NEWMAC Championship Tournament to finish third in the tourney.
