Lebanon Valley College announces Burns, Walter, Adams Earn Major Awards; Six Dutchmen Named to All-MAC Commonwealth Softball Team

From May 10, 2023 post.

The Lebanon Valley softball team had six student-athletes selected to the 2023 All-MAC Commonwealth Team while winning three of the four major awards. Sam Burns was voted as the Player of the Year, Jordan Walter was named the Pitcher of the Year, and Scot Adams was selected as the Coach of the Year. Burns and Walter were joined on the first team by Lexi Smith while Lindsey McCurdy was a second team selection. Erin Sinatra and Nicole Kratz were honorable mentions.

Adams was named the Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season after leading the Dutchmen to a second consecutive regular season championship with a 14-1 conference record. LVC defeated 20th-ranked Babson 4-2 to end their Florida trip and swept eight doubleheaders throughout the season including their first six conference series. The Dutchmen finished first in the conference in batting and pitching.

Burns was named the Player of the Year and earned first team honors for the first time in her career after leading the conference in four different categories. The junior had a .435 batting average with 60 hits including five triples and stole 26 bases on 28 attempts. The leadoff hitter was second in the conference with 39 runs scored and tied for fifth in doubles with 11. Burns had 20 multi-hit game and had a 15-game hitting streak to end the season. She had three hits in a game six times, three runs in a game twice, and three RBI in a game twice. The left fielder was also solid in the field with 46 putouts and two assists on 50 chances.

Walter established herself as the top pitcher in the conference to earn first team honors after being named to the second team last year. She led the MAC Commonwealth with a 1.17 earned run average and won a league-leading 17 games including a perfect 8-0 in conference play. The junior was second in the conference in opposing batting average at .206 and fifth in strikeouts with 103 including 30 strikeouts looking which ranks tied for second. Walter allowed just 23 earned runs in 137.1 innings of work and recorded two saves. She struck out a career-high nine batters in a 6-1 victory over Messiah to clinch the regular season championship.

Smith joins Burns and Walter on the first team with her first career All-Conference honor. The sophomore second baseman was second on the team and fifth in the conference with a .407 batting average and seventh in hits with 46. Smith knocked in 12 runs and scored 21 times while stealing 20 bases on 22 attempts. In the field, she recorded 63 putouts and 68 assists on 134 chances while being involved in two double plays. Smith had 16 multi-hit games, including four with a season-high three hits.

McCurdy was a second team selection in the outfield for the second consecutive year and earns her third career all-conference honor. The junior was third in the conference in runs batted in with 30 and second in triples with four. McCurdy hit .331 with 41 hits including nine doubles and three home runs. She scored 27 runs and stole six bases on seven attempts. McCurdy had 12 multi-hit games and a team-leading 11 multi-RBI games. She had three hits in a game three times during the year and had three RBI once. In the outfield, she made 41 putouts on 42 chances.

Erin Sinatra was named an honorable mention after she led the conference with an .194 opposing batting average as a pitcher. The junior was tied for fourth in wins with 11, fourth in ERA at 2.05, fourth in strikeouts with 105, and fourth in strikeouts looking with 26. Sinatra was 5-1 in conference play and recorded four shutouts and a save in 95.2 innings pitched throughout the season. She had a season-high 12 strikeouts in a 10-6 six inning victory at Albright.

Kratz earned honorable mention honors at designated player after a great rookie season where she batted .380 in 30 games. She had 30 hits including seven doubles and four home runs with 10 runs scored and 16 RBI adding power to the middle and bottom of the lineup. Kratz had nine multi-hit games, a hitting streak of seven to end the year, and season-best three hits in a 9-5 comeback win at Widener. The first-year hit two home runs in a 10-1 six inning victory at Lycoming.

The full all-conference team and award winners are below.

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Original source can be found here.