ANNVILLE, Pa. – On Wednesday morning, the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) announced their All-Conference teams for the 2023 softball season. Among the honorees from the MAC Commonwealth were five Falcons.
Lydia Collison,
McKenzie Shannon, and
Elianna Litwin earned First Team honors while
Alexa Burger and
Hannah Dyer claimed spots on the Second Team.
For Dyer and Collison, the honors are the second of their careers from the MAC Commonwealth with Dyer earning an Honorable Mention nod last season and Collison nabbing a spot on the Second Team a year ago. For Shannon, Litwin, and Burger this year's honors are the first of their career from the conference.
As mentioned,
Lydia Collison claimed her second career All-Conference honor this season after a strong season in the circle as the Falcons' ace. Collison was named one of two First Team All-MAC Commonwealth pitchers after tossing 121.2 innings this season and pitching to a 2.53 ERA with a 16-3 overall record. She struck out 83 batters on the season while twirling nine complete games and a shutout against Neumann on Feb. 25. Collison made 21 starts in the circle for the Falcons, appearing in 24 games.
Also earning First Team All-Conference honors was the Falcons' backstop,
McKenzie Shannon. Her first All-MAC Commonwealth laurel comes on the heels of a stellar season behind the plate and at the dish. Shannon hit .301 on the season with 21 extra-base hits, including a career-high nine home runs. She drove home 29 runs on the season with 41 hits while scoring 41 runs as a table-setter towards the top of the Falcons' order. Her on-base percentage of .364 was a new career high while also swiping 11 bags on the year. Behind the dish, Shannon carried a .983 fielding percentage committing just two errors in 118 chances.
Elianna Litwin earned First Team All-Conference honors after a breakout senior campaign. The Falcons third baseman started the season hot and never slowed down. Litwin entered the season with a .226 career batting average and proceeded to hit .415 on the season with 51 hits, 39 RBI, 14 extra-base hits, 30 runs scored, 16 walks, and just eight strikeouts. She set new career highs in every offensive category while also starting all 42 games for the Falcons. She led the Falcons in batting average, RBI, on-base percentage, walks, and hits all while holding down a key spot in the middle of the order.
Shortstop
Hannah Dyer earned a spot on the Second Team after hitting .357 with 23 RBI and 45 hits on the season. Dyer also stole 10 bases and scored 34 runs for the Falcons. Her .441 on-base percentage, and .357 batting average were both second the team this year. Dyer collected seven extra-base hits on the year, including a home run against Elizabethtown on Apr. 13.
Fellow infielder
Alexa Burger earns her first career All-Conference honor, earning a Second Team accolade. Burger, who was slowed by injury for part of April, still hit .327 with 11 extra-base hits while scoring 21 runs and driving home 13 runs on the year. Burger stole a dozen bases for the Falcons, while also hitting a pair of home runs early in the season against Dickinson on Feb. 21 and Neumann on Feb. 25.
The Falcons finished the season with an overall record of 29-13, advancing to the MAC Commonwealth Semifinals. Messiah started the season 4-5, but finished strong, going 24-6 across the final 30 games of the regular season.
