1 of 2 Makenzie Amend
2 of 2 Annie Paterson
BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. – West Liberty softball standouts Makenzie Amend and Annie Paterson were repeat selections on Thursday afternoon when the Mountain East Conference coaches announced the results of their voting for the 2022 All-MEC Softball Team.
Amend earned first-team honors as a pitcher while Paterson was a second-team selection as a pitcher after teaming up to help lead Coach Herb Minch’s Hilltoppers to a third straight 30-win season and MEC North Division title.
A graduate student from Wheeling, W.Va., Amend has been a dominant force in the circle throughout her record-setting career. The hard-throwing righthander heads into this weekend’s MEC Tournament as the conference record-holder with 697 career strikeouts. She ranks among the Top 10 nationally in Hits/7 innings (3.78) and strikeouts/7 innings (11.1) and clinched WLU’s third straight division title on Monday with a 9-0 no-hitter against Glenville State. She went 16-5 with a 1.83 ERA during the regular season, striking out 182 batters and giving up only 62 hits in 114.2 innings pitched.
Paterson, who hails from Salem, Ohio, is in the midst of a stellar senior season in the circle and at the plate. The veteran workhorse was a hard-luck 7-8 in the circle despite ranking among the MEC leaders in ERA (2.54), strikeouts (142) and opposing batting average (.221). The lefty slugger also had a huge year at the plate, ranking among the league’s top five in nearly every major offensive category. Nearly half of Paterson’s 60 hits went for extra bases as she backed a .417 batting average with a .722 slugging percentage and an eye-popping 1.175 OPS. She bashed out 17 doubles and 9 home runs, led the team with 42 RBIs and even went 6-for-6 on stolen bases.
Charleston’s Hannah Rose was voted MEC Player of the Year while Hannah Hudson of West Virginia Wesleyan was Pitcher of the Year. Freshman of the Year honors went to Frostburg State first baseman Jamie Roberts and West Virginia Wesleyan’s Steve Warner was voted MEC Coach of the Year.
West Liberty’s two-time defending MEC champions begin their quest for a ‘three-peat’ on Friday when they take on West Virginia State in an MEC Tournament first-round game. First pitch is set for 2:30 p.m. at the Moyer Sports Complex in Salem, Va.
SOFTBALL
2022 ALL-Mountain East Conference Team
MEC Player of the Year: Hannah Rose (Charleston)
MEC Pitcher of the Year: Hannah Hudson (W.Va. Wesleyan)
MEC Freshman of the Year: Jamie Roberts (Frostburg State)
MEC Coach of the Year: Steve Warner (W.Va. Wesleyan)
FIRST TEAM
Pos. Name School Cl. Hometown
C Honesty Holt Davis & Elkins Jr. Bentonville, Ark.
C Allysa Lake Charleston Jr. Allen Park, Mich.
1B Linzey Allard Davis & Elkins Fr. San Jose, Calif.
1B Jamie Roberts Frostburg State Fr. Bryantown, Md.
2B Kendal Marshall Charleston Sr. Charleston, W.Va.
SS Alli Robinson W.Va. Wesleyan Jr. Buckhannon, W.Va.
SS Hannah Rose Charleston So. New Haven, W.Va.
3B Emily Riggs Fairmont State So. Bridgeport, W.Va.
DP Autunm Oelhstrom Wheeling So. Lisbon, Ohio
OF Gracie Hightower W.Va. Wesleyan So. Barboursville, W.Va.
OF Alexi Maciejowski Notre Dame Sr. Macedonia, Ohio
OF Mia Mendoza Davis & Elkins Fr. Chino Hills, Calif.
P MAKENZIE AMEND WEST LIBERTY GR. WHEELING, W.VA.
P Dani Bauer Charleston Jr. Tallahassee, Fla.
P Holly Brehm Glenville State Jr. Mullens, W.Va.
P Hannah Hudson W.Va. Wesleyan Sr. Blackstone, Va.
P Kasey Murphy W.Va. State Sr. Ironton, Ohio
Second Team
Pos. Name School Cl. Hometown
C Katie Ernst Frostburg State So. Hanover, Pa.
1B Sarah Thompson Concord Sr. Prince George, Va.
2B Kennadie Batchelor Frostburg State Sr. Louisa, Va.
2B Grace Sobeck Alderson Broaddus Fr. Sunrise, Fla.
SS Daniele Rivera Notre Dame Sr. Cleveland, Ohio
3B Alexis Rehm Notre Dame Sr. Wooster, Ohio
DP Emma Ruth W.Va. State Sr. Visalia, Calif.
OF Laura Gilford Frostburg State Fr. Taneytown, Md.
OF Paige Scruggs W.Va. State Gr. Hurricane, W.Va.
OF Laura Thompson Concord Sr. Prince George, Va.
P Kate Chapple Frostburg State Fr. Easton, Md.
P Abby O'Shields W.Va. Wesleyan Fr. Dagsboro, Del.
P ANNIE PATERSON WEST LIBERTY SR. SALEM, OHIO
P Autumn Thompson W.Va. State So. Ridgeview, W.Va.