Danbury, Conn. – Fordham softball two-way freshman standout
Paige Rauch can add one more piece of hardware for her rookie campaign as she was named a Second Team ECAC All-Star, it was announced Thursday morning.
"Paige had an incredible freshman year and I am really proud of all that she was able to accomplish," Head coach
Bridget Orchard said, "She worked hard all year and I am happy to see her recognized by the ECAC."
The Windsor, N.Y. native, a NFCA National Freshman of the Year top-25 finalist, had previously earned the program's sixth Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year award while also becoming the first student-athlete in the league's history to earn First Team All-Conference honors as both a pitcher and a position player (second base). Since, Rauch was named to the A-10 All-Championship Team and earned a place on the NFCA Mid-Atlantic All-Region First Team.
Rauch finished her first year in the Bronx with a .301/.445/.693 slash line with a team-leading 16 home runs, 51 runs, 44 RBIs, 41 walks, 115 total bases, and five triples, while also contributing 50 hits, seven doubles, and six stolen bases. In the circle, she totaled a 14-3 record with a league-leading 1.66 ERA across 25 appearances, 15 starts, and 109.1 innings. Rauch went the distance 10 times and notched a pair of shutouts plus a pair of saves, including in the A-10 Championship final. She was one of three Rams to start all 56 games.
In conference action, Rauch co-led the team with eight home runs and drove in a team-high 20 while scoring 19 times and walking 14 times. In the circle, Rauch went 8-1 over 10 appearances and seven starts with a 1.06 ERA over 52.2 innings.
