LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Wheaton College (Mass.) softball player Juliette Zito (Woodbridge, Conn.) was named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association NCAA Division III All-Region II First Team, it was announced by the NFCA.
The awards honor student-athletes from the Association's 10 regions with selection to one of three teams. NFCA member head coaches nominate and then vote for the winners in their respective region.
If they were not already voted to an All-Region squad, conference Players and Pitchers of the Year from member institutions are added to the third team in their region, so long as they are nominated by their member head coach and receive votes.
Zito becomes the first Lyon to earn First Team All-Region honors in back-to-back seasons since Emma Hart '16 was chosen in both 2015 and 2016.
In addition to being named All-Region, the senior was selected the New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference Player of the Year and a First Team All-Conference honoree.
The senior was the best lead-off hitter in the NEWMAC and one of the best in the region after batting .412 (61-148) to rank fifth among all league leaders. She also led the conference 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, while being caught just three times and placed fourth in the conference in stolen bags. 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.
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.
