D9/10 Alums Well-Represented on All-PAC Softball Teams

Julia Hart. Photo Geneva College athletics.

TRAFFORD, Pa. – The Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) announced its All-PAC Softball teams and top award winners on Tuesday, with District 9 and 10 alums well-represented.

Geneva’s Julia Hart (Slippery Rock High School) was a first-team selection at first base, while Westminster’s Elizabeth Malczak (Grove City) was second team at pitcher.

Earning honorable mention All-PAC was Chatham’s Mackenzie Dunn (Karns City) at catcher, Bethany’s Morgan Huey (Hickory) at Utility, and Grove City’s Kaitlyn Constantino (Clarion Area) at pitcher.

Waynesburg University won its second straight PAC Tournament title on Saturday and the repeat theme continued with the award winners. Three of the four top awards went to previous winners, starting with Geneva College senior outfielder Sarah Johnson (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista) earning this year’s PAC Player of the Year, the second of her career after she was the Player of the Year in 2021. Also earning a second award was Waynesburg sophomore pitcher Sydney Wilson (Pentress, W.Va./Clay-Battelle), who was honored as the PAC Pitcher of the Year for the second consecutive year.

The Newcomer of the Year honor went to a Waynesburg player for a second straight season in sophomore second baseman Grace Higgins (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) and Waynesburg fourth-year head coach Brett Shimek collected PAC Coach of the Year honors for the second year in a row.

Johnson becomes the first player to win two PAC Player of the Year awards since Rachael Schafer from Bethany College won three straight from 2001-03. Johnson’s final season as a Golden Tornado saw her set a plethora of Geneva career records, including career hits, stolen bases, runs scored, and triples, as she earned First Team All-PAC for a fourth time.

Hart hit .350 with a .957 OPS with two home runs, 43 RBIs, and 20 doubles.

Malczak, meanwhile, compiled a 14-4 record and a 3.04 ERA for Westminster with a 1.28 WHIP, striking out 43.

Dunn hit .357 for Chatham with a .696 slugging percentage. She also had a team-high six home runs and 29 RBIs.

Huey hit a team-leading .320 for Bethany with 25 RBIs and 10 stolen bases.

Constantino put together a solid season for Grove City, going 11-7 with a 3.55 ERA. In 114 ⅓ innings, she struck out 72 and had a 1.64 WHIP.

PAC Award Winners
Player of the Year: Geneva senior outfielder Sarah Johnson (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista)
Pitcher of the Year: Waynesburg sophomore Sydney Wilson (Pentress, W.Va./Clay-Battelle)
Newcomer of the Year: Waynesburg sophomore second base Grace Higgins (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan)
Coach of the Year: Waynesburg fourth-year head coach Brett Shimek

All-PAC First Team
Position	Name	Class	School	Hometown | High School
C	Brin Hunter	Sr.	Waynesburg	West Alexander, Pa./McGuffey
1B	Julia Hart	Jr.	Geneva	Prospect, Pa./Slippery Rock
1B	Mackenzie Latess	Sr.	Westminster	New Castle, Pa./Laurel
2B	Grace Higgins	So.	Waynesburg	Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan
SS	Kimberly McDaniels	So.	Franciscan	Tucson, Ariz./Salpointe Catholic
SS	Alexis Yates	Sr.	Westminster	Oakdale, Pa./South Fayette
3B	Rachel Zona	So.	Grove City	New Castle, Pa./New Castle
OF	Sarah Johnson	Sr.	Geneva	Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista
OF	Alex Dillner	Jr.	Saint Vincent	Irwin, Pa./Norwin
OF	Brooke Atkins	Sr.	Westminster	New Castle, Pa./Laurel
DP	Sophia Godzak	So.	Allegheny	Belle Vernon, Pa./Belle Vernon
UTIL	Janessa Dawson	Sr.	Grove City	Zanesville, Ohio/Tri-Valley
P	Aleya Belardinelli	So.	Allegheny	Melbourne, Fla./West Shore
P	Sydney Wilson	So.	Waynesburg	Pentress, W.Va./Clay-Battelle
P	Madison Brown	Grad.	Westminster	Lisbon, Ohio/East Liverpool

 

All-PAC Second Team
Position	Name	Class	School	Hometown | High School
C	Cameron Long	Jr.	Allegheny	Midlothian, Va./Midlothian
1B	Sofia Genareo	So.	Allegheny	Lakewood, N.Y./Southwestern Central
1B	Ella Brookman	Jr.	Waynesburg	Washington, Pa./Chartiers-Houston
2B	Maci Linhart	So.	Grove City	Columbiana, Ohio/Columbiana
SS	Peyton Eckenrode	Sr.	W&J	York Haven, Pa./Northeastern
SS	Kayla Gratton	Jr.	Waynesburg	Monroeville, Pa./Gateway
3B	Sydney Senay	Jr.	Waynesburg	Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan
OF	Reghan Benschoter	Sr.	Waynesburg	Newark, Ohio/Granville
OF	Jasmine DeMaske	Fr.	Waynesburg	Waynesburg, Pa./Jefferson-Morgan
OF	Ashley Wire	Sr.	Westminster	Poland, Ohio/Poland Seminary
DP	Jessica LaPorte	Jr.	Saint Vincent	Pittsburgh, Pa./Keystone Oaks
UTIL	Mia Meholick	So.	Westminster	DuBois, Pa./DuBois Central Catholic
P	Haley Smith	Sr.	Geneva	Joshua Tree, Calif./Yucca Valley
P	Autumn Stemple	Sr	Waynesburg	Morgantown, W.Va./University
P	Elizabeth Malczak	Jr.	Westminster	Grove City, Pa./Grove City

 

Honorable Mention All-PAC
Position	Name	Class	School	Hometown | High School
C	Mackenzie Dunn	Sr.	Chatham	Butler, Pa./Karns City
1B	Destiny Goodnight	Jr.	Bethany	Youngstown, Ohio/Ursuline
2B	Kylie Heid	Fr.	Thiel	Monaca, Pa./Central Valley
SS	Lexi Buck	Sr.	Grove City	Akron, Ohio/Lake Center Christian
3B	Kylee Yothers	Sr.	Thiel	Indian Head, Pa./Connellsville
OF	Samantha Phillips	Fr.	Allegheny	Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon
OF	Paige Shaftic	Grad.	Chatham	New Castle, Pa./New Castle
OF	Payton James	Fr.	Geneva	McKinney, Texas/McKinney
OF	Julia DiPietro-Harvey	Fr.	W&J	Pittsburgh, Pa./Taylor Allderdice
DP	Kaitlyn Collins	Sr.	Chatham	Red Lion, Pa./Red Lion
DP	Peri Ceasri	Sr.	Geneva	El Dorado Hills, Calif./Vista Del Lago
UTIL	Morgan Huey	Sr.	Bethany	Hermitage, Pa./Hickory
P	Victoria Murren	Fr.	Chatham	New Oxford, Pa./Bermudian Springs
P	Kaitlyn Constantino	Jr.	Grove City	Clarion, Pa./Clarion
P	Olivia Bushore	So.	Saint Vincent	Claysburg, Pa./Claysburg-Kimmel