Bruins dominate all-NSAA softball selections

WATERTOWN, S.D. -- The Bellevue University softball team dominated the list of all-North Star Athletic Association selections announced this evening in conjunction with the NSAA Softball Tournament being held May 5-7 at Premier Softball Complex in Watertown, S.D. The Bruins had eight first-team selections, including NSAA Pitcher of the Year Katie Cunningham and NSAA Newcomer of the Year Reese Floro.

In addition, head coach Michala Cimino was named the NSAA Coach of the Year for the fourth time in her career after guiding the Bruins to the NSAA regular-season title with a 24-2 league record and a 38-11 overall mark. It marked the eighth time overall that Cimino has been cited as the conference Coach of the Year, after also earning the honor four times in the Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference. 

First-team selections from Bellevue included: freshman pitcher Katie Cunningham, sophomore pitcher Cory Carrillo, senior catcher Allison O'Driscoll, freshman first baseman Reese Floro, junior second baseman Ashley Young, senior outfielder Maricela Egan, junior utility player Lauren Jurek, and senior outfielder/designated player/pitcher Emily Rochford. Sophomore pitcher Savannah Gunn was named to the second team. 

Additionally, the Bruins had three selections to the Gold Glove Team in O'Driscoll, Floro, and Egan. 

Cunningham finished second in the conference with 13 wins and 114 strikeouts while maintaining a league third-best 2.27 ERA. She finished the regular-season with a 13-6 record and three saves and was named the NSAA Pitcher of the Week on three occasions. 

Floro led the league with a .470 batting average while collecting 18 doubles and six home runs for a .701 slugging percentage. She had a 27-game hitting streak during the season and struck out just two times. Floro drove in 37 runs as the team's lead-off batter. Defensively, she registered a .993 fielding percentage with just two errors in 275 chances at first base. 

Carrillo led the team and the league with a 1.66 ERA. She currently has a 7-2 ERA in 14 appearances with 54 strikeouts in 59 innings pitched. 

O'Driscoll, who earned first-team honors in 2021 as well, has started 48 of 49 games as the team's catcher. She is batting .328 on the season with 14 doubles, three home runs, and 30 RBIs. She committed just two fielding errors from behind the plate while throwing out five baserunners. 

Young is tied for second on the team with 10 home runs while batting .325 with 14 doubles and a team-leading 49 RBIs. She is fourth on the team with a .629 slugging percentage. Young earned second-team honors in 2021 and first-team accolades in 2019. 

Egan picked up her third first-team all-NSAA honor and her second Gold Glove Team nod. She is batting .357 on the season with a team-leading 12 home runs, along with 13 doubles and 41 RBIs. 

Jurek, who was named to the second team last season, finished third in the league with a .438 batting average. She has registered 17 doubles, nine home runs, and 40 RBIs and currently leads the Bruins with a .781 slugging percentage. In the circle, Jurek is 8-2 on the season with a 2.89 ERA and 64 strikeouts in 70.1 innings pitched. 

Rochford was second on the team with 10 home runs while also collecting seven doubles with a .280 batting average, a .592 slugging percentage, and 27 RBIs. 

Gunn currently has a 9-1 record in 16 appearances and is second on the team and in the league with a 2.24 ERA. She has 45 strikeouts in 59.1 innings pitched.  

The top-seeded Bruins (38-11/24-2 NSAA) will begin NSAA Tournament action on Thursday (May 5) with a 12:30 p.m. matchup against eighth-seeded Viterbo University (9-37/5-23 NSAA).