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Wade Named Player of the Year as six Spartans earn All-Commonwealth

May 10, 2024
Emma Wade hitting a softball at homeplate.

The York College softball team placed six players on the MAC All-Commonwealth team as announced by the league office on Wednesday. In addition to the six individual honorees, junior Emma Wade was named the MAC Commonwealth Player of the Year.

Wade was joined on the first team by catcher Daphney Adams and infielder Gretchen Barstad. First-year Spartan Kyrsten Coppage earned second-team honors while pitcher Natalie Rietema and infielder Alexis McDonaugh earned honorable mention accolades.

Wade had a fantastic junior campaign. She leads Division III in total RBI's with 72 while she hit .426 with 36 runs scored, 15 doubles, 13 home runs and 109 total bases. Wade owned an OPS of 1.338, a slugging percentage of .845 and an on-base percentage of .493. She drew 19 walks and was hit by one pitch.

In addition to leading the country in RBI's, Wade ranks seventh nationally in home runs and 25th in slugging percentage. Her name was all over the MAC Commonwealth offensive leaders. Wade finished fifth in batting average, first in OPS, fourth in runs, fourth in hits, fourth in doubles, first in home runs, first in total bases, first in slugging, seventh in walks, and fifth in on-base percentage.

Wade had 18 multi-hit games, 17 multi-RBI games and had a 15-game reached base safely streak during the year. She is the first Spartan softball player to earn league Player of the Year honors.

Barstad burst on to the scene as a sophomore as she hit a blistering .464 with 54 runs scored, 16 doubles, three triples, five home runs and 36 RBI. She drew a team-high 23 walks and led the team with an on-base percentage of .543. Barstad owned an OPS of 1.272 while she had 102 total bases and a .729 slugging percentage. She also stole a team-high 13 stolen bases.

Barstad ranks 17th in the country in doubles, eighth in hits (65), 15th in total bases, and 36th in runs per game. She ranks second in the Commonwealth in batting average, third in OPS, first in runs, first in hits, second in doubles, seventh in home runs, fourth in RBI's, second in total bases, fourth in slugging percentage, first in walks, second in on-base percentage, and fourth in stolen bases.

Adams capped an outstanding Spartan career with a stellar grad year. She makes her fourth MAC All-Commonwealth appearance in addition to being the 2021 Commonwealth Rookie of the Year. Adams hit .385, with 41 runs scored, a school-record 19 doubles, two triples, four home runs and 41 RBI's. She slugged at .654, had an OPS of 1.106, and an on-base percentage of .452.

Adams finishes her career with three school records as she has the most doubles (56) all-time along with the most RBI/\'s (127), and most runners caught stealing (50). She hit .351 with 110 runs, 56 doubles, nine triples, 12 home runs and 127 RBI, 69 walks and 17 stolen bases in her 166-game Spartan career.

Adams led the league in doubles, was ninth in batting average, sixth in OPS, third in runs, sixth in hits, third in RBI, fifth in total bases and sixth in slugging percentage.

Coppage had a strong first year in the Green and White as she went 14-6 with a 3.37 ERA in 128.2 innings of action in 2024. She made 24 appearances with 23 starts with 14 complete games and three shutouts. She struck out 90 as she held opponents to a .251 batting average against.

Coppage ranked third in the league in wins, fourth in complete games, fourth in shutouts, fourth in innings pitched, fifth in strikeouts, and fifth in batting average against.

Rietema makes her second appearance on an all-conference team as a sophomore. She went 12-8 with a 3.63 ERA in 113.2 innings. She made 25 appearances including 19 starts. Rietema posted 12 complete games for the Spartans. Rietema struck out 95 and held opponents to a .243 batting average.

Rietema is sixth in the league in wins, sixth in complete games, fifth in innings pitched, fifth in strikeouts, and sixth in opponent's batting average.

McDonaugh had a memorable first year in the Green and White. She hit .342 with 10 runs scored, six doubles, 28 RBI, and 15 walks. She had a .801 OPS, a .392 slugging percentage and a .409 on-base percentage.

McDonaugh had 12 multi-hit games, eight multi-RBI games and had a 22-game reached base streak.

The Spartans return all but two starters for next year as York must say goodbye to Adams and Kylee Paules while the entire pitching staff is scheduled to return after this year's 26-win club.

This story originally appeared on ycpspartans.com.