Niegocki earns second-straight First Team honor; Merrill takes Second Team, All-Rookie
(Lawrenceville, NJ) Rider University junior pitcher/second baseman Jessie Niegocki (Marana, AZ/Mountain View) and freshman pitcher/outfielder Jadeyn Merrill (Lamesa, TX/Lamesa) have been named All-MAAC, the league office today announced. Niegocki earned First Team honors at utility for the second-straight year, while Merrill earns Second Team honors at designated player in her first year with the Broncs. Merrill was also selected to the MAAC All-Rookie Team.
Niegocki backed up a breakout sophomore season with another banner season as a junior. Named among the Top 15 two-way players in the country in the preseason by Extra Innings Softball, Niegocki hit a team-best .333 with 32 runs scored on the season. She also stole a team-best eight bases, had a .413 on-base percentage and walked 19 times. In league contests, her average climbed 100 points to .433, while her on-base percentage jumped to .493. In the circle, Niegocki won a team-high 10 games, including five in conference. She pitched to a 3.19 ERA with 118 strikeouts in 118.1 innings pitched.
In her first season with the Broncs, Merrill hit .281 with seven doubles, three home runs, 24 RBI’s and 16 runs scored. Her average rose to .320 in league contests, where she drove in nine runs and scored five times. She contributed eight multi-hit games, including a three-hit, five RBI performance on March 10 vs. Cleveland State. Her 2-for-3 effort with a home run and three RBI’s also led the Broncs to a March 18 win over North Dakota, while she also went 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBI’s as the Broncs defeated MEAC-leading Morgan State on April 11. She contributed four multi-hit games against MAAC competition.
Press Release courtesy of Rider University Athletics
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