MARLBOROUGH, Mass. — Wheaton College (Mass.) softball player Ella Molinari (Grafton, Mass.) was named the New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference Softball Athlete of the Year, it was announced by the league.
In addition Molinari was also selected to the NEWMAC All-Conference First Team.
Molinari becomes the sixth Lyon to earn NEWMAC Player of the Year honors. Wheaton previously boasted six NEW 8 Player of the Year selections, prior to the NEW 8 becoming the NEWMAC. The junior's selection gives the Lyons the NEWMAC Player of the Year in back-to-back years with Juliette Zito '25 being chosen last year. The honor marks the first time since 2003 and 2004 when Jackie Demling '04 was named the Player of the Year in both years that Wheaton has boasted the NEWMAC's best player in consecutive seasons.
Molinari was named to the First Team after being named a Second Team selection a year ago. Blankenheim-Brown is a Second Team honoree for the third straight year to become the first Lyon to earn All-Conference honors in three straight years since Emma Hart '16 was tabbed in four straight seasons. De La Rosa received All-Conference recognition as a pitcher for two consecutive years to become the first Wheaton pitcher to achieve that designation since Jackie Demling '04 was an All-Conference selection in three straight years (2002-04). Arcand earns All-Conference honors for the first time.
Molinari proved to be one of the best players for both the balance of the season and the conference slate. The junior batted .440 (48-109) to rank third in the league, including a .525 (32-61) mark against conference opponents, which ranked as the second-highest average in the NEWMAC. Molinari established herself as one of the best shortstops in the conference, before making the move to center field for seven league contests that saw her emerge as one of the best outfielders in the league as well. The Biology Pre-Health major was among the best in the region at getting on base with a .504 on-base percentage, including a remarkable .586 figure in the 19 NEWMAC games that she appeared in top the conference. The Bay State native boasted a .780 slugging percentage to rank fourth in the conference and 60th in the nation, while her slugging mark in conference tilts rose to .918 to rank second as part of a league-best 1.504 OPS. Molinari owned a 1.284 OPS for the season, while smacking 14 doubles and ranked second among conference foes with 0.40 doubles per game in addition to placing 67th in NCAA Division III. Molinari tallied 48 hits and seven home runs and was second with 32 hits in conference play and third with four homers. The Grafton High School product ranked 11th in the conference with 28 runs batted in, fifth with 85 total bases and 13th with 32 runs scored. Molinari was a speed threat as well, stealing seven bases in as many attempts to place 19th in all games and 11th in league games. She drew 13 walks on the season with 11 base on balls coming against NEWMAC competition to place her ninth in the league. Molinari finished the season as, perhaps the hottest hitter in the conference, if not the region, raising her batting average by 52 points over her final nine games, going 15-24 (.625) with four homers, five doubles, seven RBI and 12 runs scored during a 10-game hitting streak from April 18 to May 2. Molinari hit safely in 28 of 35 games that she appeared in and was hitless in two consecutive games just once during the campaign. She owned another 10-game hitting stretch from March 27 to April 11 and recorded 17 multi-hit showings, including a string of six consecutive games with two or more hits from April 4-11. She was named NEWMAC Athlete of the Week during the final two weeks of the season and cemented herself as the Lyons most valuable player with her play in the field and at the plate, helping them win six of seven conference games to close out the regular season. During the inspirational string, Molinari became the 17th player in NCAA Division III history to hit a home run in four consecutive games from May 24-29. Her ability to get on base was her most valuable contribution during the final stretch of the season, scoring at least one run in nine of the team's final 10 games.
For her career, Molinari has started 114 of 116 games and owns a .388 (137-353) batting mark to go with 73 runs batted in, 80 runs scored, 32 doubles, five triples, nine home runs, 43 walks and 17 stolen bases to go with a robust .456 on-base percentage and a gaudy .584 slugging mark.
Wheaton finished the season with a 21-16 overall record, including 11-9 in NEWMAC play. The Lyons earned the number six seed in the NEWMAC Championship Tournament, before bowing to United States Coast Guard Academy in the opening round.
