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Grace Vesco to return to St Francis, Payton Gottshall stars at Tennessee, Tye Hunt in NCAA track prelims

bill arsenault
·6 min read
Grace Vesco
Grace Vesco

Senior Grace Vesco has had a great four years pitching for Pennsylvania’s St. Francis University softball team. And the Hoover High School graduate will be back for a fifth season.

The 5-foot-7 right-hander will take advantage of the NCAA’s COVID ruling allowing athletes to have another year of eligibility. That means that Vesco can add on to her career records.

Vesco finished the season 13-11 with four shutouts for the Red Flash. Her 185 strikeouts led the Northeast Conference. She was named to first-team all-conference for the third straight season. And she was named to the College Sports Communicators All-District team. She has a 3.83 GPA majoring in occupational therapy.

Grace Vesco
Grace Vesco

The 185 strikeouts came up short of her single-season record of 196 in 2021 when she was 22-4 and was named NEC Pitcher of the Year. She holds career records in strikeouts with 586 and victories with 54.

St. Francis finished 26-24 after winning the league regular-season title with a 15-6 record. The season ended when the Red Flash went 1-2 in the conference tournament.

Payton Gottshall (Perry) The 5-9 senior right-hander led the fourth-ranked Tennessee softball team by winning two games, including a no-hitter in the Knoxville Regionals last weekend. Gottshall tossed a five-inning no-no in a 12-0 win over Northern Kentucky on May 19 and came back to earn a five-inning 7-3 victory over Indiana last Sunday. Gottshall is 15-1 for the SEC tournament champs and joins graduate student Ashley Rogers (17-1) to give the 48-8 Vols a one-two pitching punch heading into the Super Regionals against Texas this weekend in Knoxville. The Vols won Game 1 of the best-of-three series 5-2 Friday night with Rogers pitching. That winner advances to the Women’s College World Series starting June 1 in Oklahoma City.

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Tennessee's Payton Gottshall (33) celebrates a strike out during a NCAA Regional softball game between Tennessee and Northern Kentucky at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., on Friday, May 19, 2023.
Tennessee's Payton Gottshall (33) celebrates a strike out during a NCAA Regional softball game between Tennessee and Northern Kentucky at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., on Friday, May 19, 2023.

Kylie Coffelt (West Branch) The 5-7 graduate student had a 10-7 record with a 3.65 ERA pitching for the Ohio softball team (32-23). Coffelt appeared in 28 games with 19 starts and had eight complete games. In 117 innings, she gave up 137 hits, 80 runs, 61 earned, with 37 walks and 67 strikeouts. Coffelt was named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District team. She graduated with a 3.541 GPA earning an MBA in strategic & sales.

Tye Hunt (Lake) The junior is one of 12 men representing Youngstown State in the Division I NCAA East Prelims this week in Jacksonville, Fla. Hunt will be competing in the long jump. He earned the berth by posting a 25-foot leap when he finished third in the Hurricane Alumni Invitational on April 7-8 in Coral Gables, Fla. His personal record in the event is 25-4.75. The top 12 advance to the NCAA Championships, June 7-10, in Austin, Texas.

Youngstown State's Tye Hunt competes during an indoor meet in 2023.
Youngstown State's Tye Hunt competes during an indoor meet in 2023.

Connor Mayle (Hoover) The junior and the John Carroll baseball team set a program record for victories, but the Blue Streaks' season ended with three losses at Aurora (Ill.) in a best-of-five series in the Division III Super Regional last weekend. Mayle hit .299 (52-for-174) with eight doubles, nine home runs, 30 runs and 36 RBIs. He earned OAC honorable mention. The Blue Streaks finished 28-17 and won the OAC Tournament.

Sam Hackenbracht (Massillon) The 5-6 senior was named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Midwest Region second team after a solid season with the Ohio State softball team (33-20, 12-11 Big Ten). Hackenbracht was named to second-team All-Big Ten. She hit .360 overall, including .421 with 24 RBIs in 23 conference games.

Seth Schroeder (West Branch) The fifth-year student was named to second-team All-Great Midwest Athletic Conference after leading the Ashland baseball team in hitting. Schroeder batted .374 (83-for-222) with nine doubles, a triple, 37 runs and 30 RBIs. He had a .423 slugging percentage for the Eagles (33-21, 22-10 G-MAC).

Tim Orr (Lake) The junior had a standout season for the Tiffin baseball team, and he is earning rewards for his effort. Orr was named to both the National College Baseball Writers’ Association and the Conference Commissioners Association Division II All-Region team. Earlier, he was named to first-team All-G-MAC. Orr hit .452 (70-for-155) with 11 doubles, three triples and nine homes. He led the Dragons in runs (45) and RBIs (48). Tiffin finished 16-33.

Emily Lippe (Lake) The junior started all 48 games she played in with the Kent State softball team (18-31, 13-14 MAC). Lippe, splitting time between first base and the team’s designated player, batted .294 (40-for-136) with two doubles, 13 home runs, 17 runs and 34 RBIs. When she was in the field, she made two errors on 120 chances (.983). The season ended on a high note with a 10-8 league win over Miami.

Emily Lippe in action for the Kent State softball team in 2022.
Emily Lippe in action for the Kent State softball team in 2022.

Josh Dezenzo (Marlington) The 6-2 freshman batted .348 in limited action for the Washington & Jefferson (Pa.) baseball team (32-14). Dezenzo played in 16 games with 13 starts and had 16 hits in 46 at-bats with four doubles, two homers, 10 runs and 11 RBIs. He hit his first collegiate homer in a 15-5 victory over Thiel in the first game of a doubleheader on April 29 and came back to homer again in a 16-3 win in the second game.

Laurel DeVoe (Hoover) The junior was the first Akron designated player since 2000 to be honored by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division I All-Midwest Region team on May 18. She was a second-team choice. DeVoe hit .328 (40-for-122) with 14 doubles, a triple, three homes, 21 runs and 21 RBIs. She had a .533 slugging percentage and hit .346 in MAC play. When she did play in the field, she made just one error on 127 chances (.957).

Jordan Anderson (West Branch) The sophomore left-hander was one of the top relief pitchers on the George Mason (Va.) softball team (35-24 ). She pitched in 17 games out of the bullpen and had a 2-1 record and a save. Anderson worked 30 innings and gave up 32 hits and 21 runs, all earned, with 10 walks and 19 strikeouts. She was named to the Atlantic 10 Conference All-Rookie team as a freshman after going 2-2 with two saves in 14 games and one start.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Payton Gottshall helps Tennessee softball win NCAA regional