Seven Bulls Earn Softball Academic All-MAC Honors
6/4/2024 1:00:00 PM | Softball, Office of Student-Athlete Success
CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Mid-American Conference announced the Academic All-MAC Softball honors on Tuesday afternoon. A total of seven Bulls made this year's list. This marked the fourth consecutive year that at least five Bulls earned this honor.
Leading the way for Buffalo was fifth year senior Alexis Lucyshyn as this was her fourth time with this honor. Madison Fernimen, Sara Kelly, and Julia Tarantino earned the recognition for the third time in their careers. Lyla Ambrose, Abbey Nagel and Alyssa Wasielewski took home the honor for the first time in their careers.
An exercise science major with a 3.607 GPA, Lucyshyn continued lead the Bulls on both sides of the plate, earning Second-Team All-MAC honors. She posted a .304 batting average with a team-high 45 hits. Starting in all 48 games for the Bulls, Lucyshyn led the way with 30 RBIs. She had 17 total extra base hits, 12 of which went for doubles and five for home runs. The Calgary, Alberta native had 13 multi-hit performances on the season. In the circle, Lucyshyn made 27 appearances, starting in 22. She struck out a career-high 163 batters in 145.0 innings of work. Her 82 strikeouts in conference play were the second most in the MAC. She had four double-digit strikeout performances, including a season-high 13 strikeouts against Wofford. Her 7.9 strikeouts per seven innings ranked second in the MAC and 43rd in the NCAA. On March 8, she threw the program's sixth no-hitter in a 1-0 victory over Winthrop. Her season earned her Second-Team All-MAC honors.
Fernimen, a psychology major with a 3.800 GPA, started in all 48 games for the Bulls. She led the team with 45 hits along with Lucyshyn. She added 17 RBIs on the year and a team-leading 31 runs scored. Fernimen was second on the team in on base percentage at .380 to go along with her .357 slugging percentage. The third baseman posted a .923 fielding percentage.
Kelly, who maintained a 3.630 GPA in public health, started in all 48 games for the Bulls her senior year. The outfielder finished with a .231 batting average with 30 hits. She added eight doubles and one triple to go along with her 14 RBIs. Kelly came around to score 14 times on the year. She had 43 putouts in the outfield.
A history major with a 3.667 GPA, Tarantino finished the season with a 2.76 ERA in conference play for the Bulls, good for ninth in the MAC. The righty pitcher threw 10 complete games which ranked third among MAC pitchers. The North Bellmore, N.Y. native had a season-high eight strikeouts against the Western Michigan Broncos and at Canisius. Tarantino also allowed a season-low three hits twice on the season at Georgia Southern and Toledo. She took home Second-Team All-MAC honors.
Ambrose, who is a 4.000 student-athlete majoring in communications, appeared in 38 games with 38 starts. The catcher totaled nine hits including two doubles. She had a career-high three hits against Niagara and scored twice against Ball State.
A business administration major with a 3.577 GPA, Nagel finished the 2024 campaign with a 1.000 fielding percentage at first base. She totaled 314 putouts with 13 assists. At the dish she had a .279 batting average with 41 hits, 17 runs and 11 RBIs. The sophomore started in all 48 games.
Wasielewski, who holds a 3.416 GPA as a nursing major, played in 45 games with 43 starts. The shortstop hit .259 at the plate with 29 hits, six of which went for doubles. Against Northern Illinois, she racked up three hits on the road. Early in the season against Evansville, the sophomore batted in three runs.
The Academic All-MAC honor is for a student-athlete who has excelled in athletics and academics. To qualify, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.20 cumulative GPA and have participated in at least 50 percent of the contests for that particular sport. Student-athletes in their first year of competition are not eligible.
Leading the way for Buffalo was fifth year senior Alexis Lucyshyn as this was her fourth time with this honor. Madison Fernimen, Sara Kelly, and Julia Tarantino earned the recognition for the third time in their careers. Lyla Ambrose, Abbey Nagel and Alyssa Wasielewski took home the honor for the first time in their careers.
An exercise science major with a 3.607 GPA, Lucyshyn continued lead the Bulls on both sides of the plate, earning Second-Team All-MAC honors. She posted a .304 batting average with a team-high 45 hits. Starting in all 48 games for the Bulls, Lucyshyn led the way with 30 RBIs. She had 17 total extra base hits, 12 of which went for doubles and five for home runs. The Calgary, Alberta native had 13 multi-hit performances on the season. In the circle, Lucyshyn made 27 appearances, starting in 22. She struck out a career-high 163 batters in 145.0 innings of work. Her 82 strikeouts in conference play were the second most in the MAC. She had four double-digit strikeout performances, including a season-high 13 strikeouts against Wofford. Her 7.9 strikeouts per seven innings ranked second in the MAC and 43rd in the NCAA. On March 8, she threw the program's sixth no-hitter in a 1-0 victory over Winthrop. Her season earned her Second-Team All-MAC honors.
Fernimen, a psychology major with a 3.800 GPA, started in all 48 games for the Bulls. She led the team with 45 hits along with Lucyshyn. She added 17 RBIs on the year and a team-leading 31 runs scored. Fernimen was second on the team in on base percentage at .380 to go along with her .357 slugging percentage. The third baseman posted a .923 fielding percentage.
Kelly, who maintained a 3.630 GPA in public health, started in all 48 games for the Bulls her senior year. The outfielder finished with a .231 batting average with 30 hits. She added eight doubles and one triple to go along with her 14 RBIs. Kelly came around to score 14 times on the year. She had 43 putouts in the outfield.
A history major with a 3.667 GPA, Tarantino finished the season with a 2.76 ERA in conference play for the Bulls, good for ninth in the MAC. The righty pitcher threw 10 complete games which ranked third among MAC pitchers. The North Bellmore, N.Y. native had a season-high eight strikeouts against the Western Michigan Broncos and at Canisius. Tarantino also allowed a season-low three hits twice on the season at Georgia Southern and Toledo. She took home Second-Team All-MAC honors.
Ambrose, who is a 4.000 student-athlete majoring in communications, appeared in 38 games with 38 starts. The catcher totaled nine hits including two doubles. She had a career-high three hits against Niagara and scored twice against Ball State.
A business administration major with a 3.577 GPA, Nagel finished the 2024 campaign with a 1.000 fielding percentage at first base. She totaled 314 putouts with 13 assists. At the dish she had a .279 batting average with 41 hits, 17 runs and 11 RBIs. The sophomore started in all 48 games.
Wasielewski, who holds a 3.416 GPA as a nursing major, played in 45 games with 43 starts. The shortstop hit .259 at the plate with 29 hits, six of which went for doubles. Against Northern Illinois, she racked up three hits on the road. Early in the season against Evansville, the sophomore batted in three runs.
The Academic All-MAC honor is for a student-athlete who has excelled in athletics and academics. To qualify, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.20 cumulative GPA and have participated in at least 50 percent of the contests for that particular sport. Student-athletes in their first year of competition are not eligible.
Players Mentioned
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IF/UTL
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IF
/ SoftballUB Softball vs. Akron Double Header (4/30) @ 1pm
Thursday, April 24
UB Softball vs. Canisius Double Header (4/23) @ 1pm
Tuesday, April 22
UB Softball vs. Toledo (4/20) @ 12pm
Monday, April 14
UB Softball vs. Northern Illinois doubleheader (4/12) @ 1pm
Thursday, April 10
