Annville, Pa. (May 13, 2021) - Alvernia University Softball placed eight student-athletes on the 2021 All-MAC Commonwealth Softball team, as announced by the Middle Atlantic Conference on Thursday. Eight All-Conference honorees is the most Alvernia has placed on an All-Commonwealth team since joining the Middle Atlantic Conference.

Senior infielder Sarah Reinert and Graduate Student Pitcher Riley Shields earned MAC Commonwealth Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year, respectively, to lead the Golden Wolves. Reinert is Alvernia's third athlete to earn Player of the Year honors, joining Brianna DePriest (2015) and Rhiannon Sorrentino (2010). Shields is Alvernia's first pitcher to earn Pitcher of the Year honors. 

In addition to Reinert and Shields, seniors Alyssa Acker (catcher) and Nicole August (designated player) also earned First Team All-MAC Commonwealth honors. First-years Paige Paciolla (infield) and Maggie Loomis (outfield) earned Second Team All-MAC Commonwealth honors for Alvernia. Juniors Ally Decker (pitcher) and Kerstin Koenig (infield) earned Honorable Mention All-MAC Commonwealth to round out Alvernia's All-Conference honors.

Reinert, who played at shortstop for Alvernia this season, had a career year en route to her First Team and Player of the Year honors. The senior led Alvernia with a .490 batting average. She led the MAC Commonwealth with 48 hits and 40 runs scored. She finished the season with seven doubles, three triples, and a home run. Reinert also drove in 16 runs. She also finished top-5 in the nation with 40 stolen bases, and was a perfect 40-for-40 on the year in stolen bases. In the field, Reinert finished the year with 49 assists and 46 putouts for a .960 fielding percentage. This is Reinert's second All-Conference honor. She was a Second-Team honoree in 2019. 

Shields, who was a starting pitcher for Alvernia while also playing some time at first base and as a DP, also had the best of her career. Shields finished the regular season 11-0 in the circle for Alvernia, and was 12-1 on the season. She finished the year with a 0.60 ERA with 90 strikeouts over 81 and two-thirds innings pitched. She gave up just seven earned runs with just 14 walks. At the plate for Alvernia,  Shields was second on the team with a .423 batting average. She finished the season with 33 hits, 24 RBIs, and 12 runs scored. This is Shields third time earning All-MAC Commonwealth honors. She earned First-Team honors in 2018 and 2019.

Alyssa Acker, a catcher for the Golden Wolves, finished the year batting .368 with 35 hits and a team-leading 25 RBIs. She posted 11 doubles, a triple, and a team-high three home runs on the season. She was also 11-for-11 in stolen base attempts. Behind the plate, Acker had 163 putouts and 13 assists. She did not commit a single error on the year. 

Rounding out Alvernia's first team honorees was designated player Nicole August. August appeared in 13 games for Alvernia, making 10 starts for the Golden Wolves. She finished the season with a .433 on-base percentage with seven hits, including a double, as well as six walks.

Paige Paciolla, a first baseman for Alvernia, earned second team honors for the Golden Wolves. Paciolla batted .361 with 22 hits for Alvernia. Paciolla finished the year with seven doubles and a triple, and drove in 22 runs while scoring 14. She finished the year with 128 putouts and three assists, and did not commit an error on the year.

Maggie Loomis, who primarily played in center field for Alvernia, also earned second team honors. Loomis finished the year with a .338 batting average with 22 hits for Alvernia. She finished the year with a double and three triples and scored 21 runs for Alvernia. In the field, Loomis finished with 17 putouts and four assists. She also did not commit an error on the year.

Ally Decker, a junior pitcher for Alvernia, earned honorable mention honors after going 9-3 on the year with a 2.58 ERA. She struckout 60 batters over 89 and two-thirds innings pitched for the Golden Wolves. Decker also earned All-MAC Commonwealth honorable mention honors in 2019.

Rounding out Alvernia's all-conference honorees was junior second baseman Kerstin Koenig. Koenig finished the season with a .297 batting average with 27 hits for Alvernia. She finished the season with three doubles and a triple. She drove in 22 runs while scoring 16 of her own. In the field, Koenig finished with 40 putouts and 40 assists for a .952 fielding percentage.

The Golden Wolves finished the season as regular season MAC Commonwealth Champions. They finished the season 22-8 overall and 15-5 in MAC Commonwealth play.

Daphney Adams of York College earned Rookie of the Year honors, and Julia Culotta earned Coach of the Year honors. 

 

2021 All-MAC Commonwealth Softball Team
Player of the Year: Sarah Reinert, Alvernia
Pitcher of the Year: Riley Shields, Alvernia
Rookie of the Year: Daphney Adams, York
Coach of the Year: Julia Culotta, Stevenson
FIRST TEAM
Position	Name	Year	School
Pitcher	Riley Shields	Senior	Alvernia
Pitcher	Jennifer Sieminski	Graduate Student	Widener
Pitcher	Madison Walter	Junior	Messiah
Catcher	Alyssa Acker	Senior	Alvernia
Infield	Sami Britton	Junior	Eastern
Infield	Alyssa Harhigh	Junior	York
Infield	Elle Meyer	Junior	York
Infield	Sarah Reinert	Junior	Alvernia
Outfield	Maddie Bosley	First Year	Stevenson
Outfield	Kayla Briles	Senior	Stevenson
Outfield	Grace Gonzalez	Graduate Student	Eastern
Outfield	Lindsey McCurdy	First Year	Lebanon Valley
Designated Player	Nicole August	Senior	Alvenria
Utility	Morghan Fulton	Graduate Student	Stevenson
SECOND TEAM
Position	Name	Year	School
Pitcher	Lexi Evelyn	Senior	Eastern
Pitcher	Sarah Musselman	Senior	Lebanon Valley
Catcher	Daphney Adams	Sophomore	York
Infield	Cailyn Barthlow	Junior	Hood
Infield	Jordan Fangman	Sophomore	Stevenson
Infield	Paige Paciolla	First Year	Alvernia
Infield	Kat Perea	Sophomore	Stevenson
Outfield	Olivia Denmark	First Year	Messiah
Outfield	Maggie Loomis	First Year	Alvernia
Designated Player	Elena Rosas	Junior	Messiah
Utility	Brynne Baker	Sophomore	Messiah
HONORABLE MENTION
Position	Name	Year	School
Pitcher	Ally Decker	Junior	Alvernia
Infield	Julia Craig	First Year	Lebanon Valley
Infield	Kerstin Koenig	Junior	Alvernia
Infield	Isabel Seise	Senior	Messiah
Utility	Jen Kaufman	Senior	Lebanon Valley
Utility	Shyla Pastore	Senior	York