Softball | May 7, 2019

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Freshman Cailey Joyce has been named to the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Softball Team, the conference announced on Tuesday. She becomes the first Explorer to land on the team since McKenzie Pearce did so in 2015 and is the ninth overall since the league started the yearly honor in 2006. The team is voted on by the league's 10 head coaches.
 
In her first season with the Explorers, Joyce made her presence felt both at the plate and in the circle. The dual threat Mechanicsburg, Pa. native became the second freshman in a row to pace the Explorers in hitting with a .301 average. Through her first 16 games, the rookie was hitting .163 and drastically improved over the final 25 games with a .386. Over that span, she led the team in batting average, hits, home runs, total bases, slugging percentage, and on-base percentage. Joyce also had a team low eight strikeouts.
 
She also led La Salle with seven home runs, including six in league play to become the first rookie to accomplish that feat since Michelle Hagarty in 2014 when she was tied for the team lead. Hagarty went on to become the program's all-time leading home run hitter with 28.
 
Aside from pacing the Blue and Gold in hitting and home runs, Joyce also sat atop the team in OPS (.903) and slugging percentage (.540). Finishing fourth on the team with 34 hits, she ended the year with nine multi-hit games and posted the team's longest hitting streak at nine games. Joyce also finished the season on a six-game streak.
 
Participating in 42 of 45 games this season, Joyce made 35 appearances in the circle where she accumulated an 8-14 record with a 4.32 ERA over 168.2 innings pitched. She struck out 91 batters and allowed 45 walks. The rookie tied the single season mark for games finished with 18, tying Mary Cate Scott in 2015.