The College of Wooster softball team had three players chosen to the All-North Coast Athletic Conference Team on Friday, highlighted by sophomore outfielder Lauren Swinehart, who became the first Scot since 2006 to receive a first-team selection. Freshman outfielder Erica Villa and freshman pitcher Jenn Horton were also made all-NCAC by obtaining honorable mention status.
Swinehart, who missed almost half of her freshman season due to injury, bounced back in a big way in 2010 to lead the Scots with a .383 batting average and .617 slugging percentage in NCAC action. Her 16 RBI in conference play tied for the second-highest total in the league, and she had six multi-RBI games during that stretch. Swinehart recorded both a 4-for-4 game, and a five-RBI outing against NCAC opponents, and also drove in three critical runs during Wooster's clash with top-seeded DenisonDenison University at season's end. She also crossed home plate 30 times this spring, tying her for the most runs scored in a single-season on the program's all-time list.
Villa, one of the league's most promising newcomers, was solid at the plate all season long, posting the team's second-highest batting average (.385), which included 14 multi-hit games. She batted .326 in the conference and scored a team-best 12 runs, including a season-high (4) against Hiram College. Also in that game against Hiram, Villa went 2-for-2 with an RBI in plate appearances against pitcher Whitney Dropsey, who was named NCAC Player of the Year. Villa was solid on the base paths as well, stealing two bags in NCAC games, and a team-high seven on the season.
Horton, the only freshman pitcher to be selected to the All-NCAC Team, built on her early season success, and put up even better numbers in league play. She compiled a 4-3 record and a solid 2.91 ERA while striking out 40 batters in her nine appearances in the circle. Horton also displayed exceptional control for a first-year hurler, walking just 11 of the 221 batters she faced, including seven games with one walked batter or less. She tied a season-high with 11 strikeouts against WittenbergWittenberg University, and later pitched a two-hit gem in Wooster's late season 9-1 win over Denison.