Westfield, MA --- Worcester State sophomore Jillian Witkowski (Leicester, MA) along with freshman classmates Courtney Salisbury (Cranston, RI) and Kayla Humphrey (Wallingford, CT) have all been tabbed to the All-MASCAC Softball Team in a vote by the league's eight head coaches this weekend as announced by conference publicist Emily Diekelmann.
As Second-team honorees, Witkowski was chosen as an outfielder, Salisbury received the nod as a catcher and Humphrey was distinguished as a utility player. The trio have helped the Lancers tie for second in the regular season standings and a third seed in this week's MASCAC Tournament.
Not only has Salisbury taken on the role as the team's primary starting catcher in her first-year campaign, but she has also started as the lead-off batter in 26 of the squads 31 contests.
With 13 multiple hit games to her credit, Salisbury is currently seventh in the MASCAC in batting (.349), tied for fifth in doubles (8), sixth in runs scored (25), eighth in overall base-knocks (37) and steals (7) while she is also 10th in on base percentage (.397) and 13th in slugging (.443).
Behind the dish, she has a .989 fielding percentage with just one error in 98 chances and she has cut down six of 21 base stealers on the campaign.
Humphrey has been a starter at both third base and in the circle for the Lancers appearing in 29 games as a first-year student-athlete. On the season Humphrey has a .299 batting average with 12 runs, 15 RBIs and a pair of doubles while she has registered a 4-6 mark with 28 strikeouts in 63.2 innings and four complete games.
Against MASCAC-only opponents, Humphrey has notched a 3-2 record with two saves, 11 earned runs in 32.0 frames and just two walks. Her 2.41 ERA against the conference has included a complete game six-hitter in a 3-1 triumph against Fitchburg State, four scoreless frames in a win against Westfield State and five shutout stanzas to seal up a victory against MCLA.
Humphrey is among the top 15 in the MASCAC in RBIs as she has fanned just four times in 87 at-bats. Her overall 3.08 earned run average is ninth in the conference.
Witkowski has been a spark plug starting at designated player and in the outfield, batting all over the order for the Blue and Gold. In her first full season playing collegiate softball, she currently leads the team with a .355 average and a .403 on base percentage while she is fifth on the squad in runs (11).
From the left side of the plate, Witkowski has done the most of her damage among league opponents finishing the regular season with the second-highest batting clip (.485) in 13 games and the second-best on base percentage (.528) to go with six runs and six RBIs.
Under the direction of first-year head coach Michelle Cote, Worcester State is currently 11-20 overall and finished the year at 9-5 in league play. The third-seeded Blue and Gold take on #6 Fitchburg State at home on Thursday in a 7 o'clock matchup.