LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Wheaton College (Mass.) softball player Peyton Blankenheim-Brown (Rio Linda, Calif.) was named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association NCAA Division III All-Region II Second Team, while Sofia De La Rosa (Middle Village, N.Y.) and Ella Molinari (Grafton, Mass.) were named to the Third 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. Coaches may nominate a maximum of eight players from their squad.
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.
The Lyons have had three players earn All-Region honors in each of the last two years to mark the first time since 2004 and 2005 that Wheaton has boasted as many as three honorees in back-to-back seasons.
Blankenheim-Brown earns All-Region honors for the first time. In addition to her regional accolade, she was chosen a Second Team All-Conference selection by the New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference a few weeks ago. Blankenheim-Brown was the ultimate dual threat for the Lyons as one of the best pitchers in the region and swung a formidable bat when playing first base and pitching. The senior hurler ranked second in the NEWMAC and 16th in the nation with a 1.30 earned run average over 118 2/3 innings pitched, which placed her seventh among league leaders. The right-hander made 20 starts for the fourth-highest total in the league and went the distance 16 times to stand fourth in the NEWMAC and 45th in NCAA Division III in complete games. Blankenheim-Brown spun four shutouts to rank third among conference foes and 48th in the nation, while holding opponents to a pedestrian .242 (108-447) batting mark to put her third among pitchers toughest to hit against in the league. A graduate of Mira Loma High School, she posted an 11-8 record for the sixth-highest win total among NEWMAC pitchers and her 69 strikeouts put her 11th. She was among the best control pitchers in the nation, ranking fourth with 0.47 walks allowed per seven innings and her strikeout-to-walk ratio of 8.63 placed her fifth among the nation's elite pitchers. She also registered a 0.98 mark in walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP) to rank 21st in the country and was selected the NEWMAC Pitcher of the Week for March 9-15. Blankenheim-Brown, who was coming off off-season knee surgery, got stronger in the circle as the season went on and did not allow more than one earned run in nine of her final 10 appearances to compile a sterling 0.80 ERA over 52 1/3 innings pitched, including 18 1/3 innings of shutout ball in her final three starts. The West Coast native was a presence in the batter's box as well, ranking sixth in the league with six home runs, 13th with a .542 slugging percentage, 15th with 26 runs batted in and 20th with 58 total bases. Blankenheim-Brown boasted a .299 (32-107) batting average for the season and added six doubles and a triple to go with 16 runs scored in 37 games. The Business and Management major knocked in three or more runs on five occasions, including a four-RBI effort, where she was 2-3 with a double and a homer at Clark on May 1.
The three-year standout missed her first year campaign with Wheaton due to an injury, but still managed to play in 106 games, including 44 as a pitcher. Blankenheim-Brown put together a 1.60 ERA for the third-best mark in school history and recorded a 24-16 record. She threw 257 1/3 innings and fanned 154 batters, while walking just 27. Blankenheim-Brown held opponents to a stingy .248 (248-998) batting average and hurled nine shutouts to place seventh on the Lyons' career list in 29 complete games. As a hitter, she owned a .325 (103-317) batting mark to go with 103 hits, 69 runs batted in, 51 runs scored, 24 doubles, three triples and 10 home runs in 106 career games. Blankenheim-Brown also boasts a .382 lifetime on-base percentage and a .514 slugging mark.
Molinari was named to the Third Team for the second straight year after being named the NEWMAC Player of the Year and a First Team All-Conference choice. She proved to be one of the best players in the region for the Lyons. 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 58th 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 20th 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.
De La Rosa was one of the best power pitchers in the conference, striking out 111 batters to rank fourth in the NEWMAC and 67th in the country and was 43rd among the nation's best in strikeout-to-walk ratio with a 4.44 figure. The right-hander tossed five shutouts to rank second in the NEWMAC and was 31st in the nation. De La Rosa held batters to a .264 (116-439) batting mark to place her sixth in the conference, while hurling 14 complete games to rank sixth as well. The junior made 17 starts to stand 11th in the league and was ninth with 112 innings pitched. She owned a 10-7 record for the eithth-highest victory count in the NEWMAC. The Archbishop Molloy High School product struck out seven or more batters on seven occasions including a season-high of 12 to open the season against Anderson University (Ind.) on March 7, followed by 10 more Ks against Ohio Northern University the next day, while hurling back-to-back shutouts. She was tabbed the NEWMAC Pitcher of the Week following her tremendous start to the 2026 slate. De La Rosa's finest outing of the season was perhaps her four-hit shutout with five strikeouts and just one walk surrendered to No. 24 Massachusetts Institute of Technology on April 24. The Business and Management major was impressive in the closing stretch of the season for the Lyons, giving up just one run in 13 2/3 innings, while striking out 15 and allowing just one walk in her final three appearances.
In three seasons in Norton, De La Rosa sports a 2.23 ERA and boasts a 25-14 record in 44 appearances. She has thrown 12 shutouts to rank sixth all-time at Wheaton and completed 32 games to place her ninth in program annals. In 254 innings of work De La Rosa has set down 243 batters on strikes to go to rank sixth all-time for the Blue and White, while holding opponents to a .253 (250-988) batting average.
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.
