EASTON, Pa. – Lafayette softball head coach Jexx Varner wrapped up the 2016 season by honoring five players, Samantha Sweigart, Brooke Wensel, Morgan Biddle, Allison Brown and Stephanie Schreiber with team awards.

Sweigart was named the team's Player of the Year. She finished second on the team in hitting among the team's full-time starters, checking in with a .319 average while also ranking third in RBIs (15) and leading the team in runs scored (21) from the lead-off spot. In May, she garnered Academic All-Patriot League status.

"It's hard to fully quantify everything Sam did for us this season. Last year, she was never 100 percent healthy and we predicted that should get even better when healthy," Varner said. "She proved that right completely! Sam was in the top three of every statistical category (offensively and defensively) this season and was a huge part of our record-setting defense and a staple in the middle or top of our order all season long. Sam will now have a full summer and fall to improve her game and we can't wait to see how she does next year when she has a full year to prepare and get stronger."

Playing alongside Sweigart was Wensel, who was selected as the team's Rookie of the Year. She led the team with a .324 batting average and was an All-Patriot League Second-Team selection.

"Brooke had an awesome freshman year," Varner commented. "She earned three Patriot League Rookie of the Week honors and led the team in hitting. Along with Sam, she was a consistent presence in the middle of our order all year long. What doesn't show up on the stat pages is the great defense she played this season. Her arm strength, length and range made for highlight reel plays each weekend. Her consistency at shortstop helped our record-breaking fielding percentage, but it was those highlight-reel plays that helped us be a consistently great defense. She will continue to get better as she adjusts more to this level of ball. She did a fantastic job this season and her future is bright."

The strong play up the middle continued to the outfield where sophomore Morgan Biddle patrolled centerfield on her way to Defensive Player of the Year honors.

"Morgan ran everything down this season! What can't be measured, however, is the leadership role she took in the outfield during every practice and game. She set the tone with her determination and effort as well as being a great voice for others with drop steps and depth," Varner explained. "Morgan was the only person in the outfield this season with significant collegiate outfield experience, but you would not have known that watching us this season and that's a tribute, in part, to her. There are a few things that establish an outfield as great and we set those as goals every year. We look to keep our outfield errors under five and have at least double the amount of outfield assists to errors. This year our outfield had 11 assists and just three errors. Morgan was a huge part of that success in the outfield and our defense as a whole."

Brown hit for a .256 average with a team-leading 18 RBIs, three home runs and 12 doubles on her way to Academic All-Patriot League honors. Playing at first base, she did not commit an error in 2016, leading the team and the Patriot League in fielding percentage. She took home the SB3C Coaches Award.

"Ally had her best year of her career as a senior and that is a credit to her drive and focus," Varner said. "The SB3C Coaches award is all about the five words we feel are most important to any ballplayer: ‘Sacrifice,' ‘Balance,' ‘Consistency,' ‘Control,' and ‘Compartmentalize.' The only way a player can make the kind of gains she did is through consistent determination. Ally did whatever she could for this program, playing right field, first base and catcher during her career. It has been wonderful to see Ally grow over the past three years and she has left a great mark on this program."

Schreiber, a fellow senior, was tabbed with the Leadership Award.

"Steph did so much for this program and her teammates on and off the field. Her dedication and leadership will leave a lasting impression on this group," Varner mentioned. "Through position changes and heavy workloads, she remained a positive example for the young women in this program. Steph earned the opportunity to be an athlete leader for the Oaks Leadership Academy this past year and helped bring those things to our locker room. She set a good standard for leadership in this program moving forward and we look forward to seeing that develop in our returners."

As a program, Lafayette managed its best winning percentage since 2010 and had 18 statistical performances in the Top-11 all-time, including runs scored (11th - 127), hits (8th – 293), doubles (3rd – 58), home runs (7th – 10), RBI (9th – 112), total bases (8th – 389), hit by pitch (1st – 25), sac flies (10th – 6), stolen bases (10th – 35), wins (11th – 13), saves (2nd – 2), shutouts (9th – 2), innings pitched (9th – 291), fielding percentage (1st - .967), putouts (9th – 873), errors (4th – 42), double plays (9th – 13) and runners caught stealing (3rd – 16).

Individually, neither Brown (216 chances) nor Didio (50 chances) committed an error and thus both hold a share of the single-season fielding percentage record. Brown was also tied for fourth-most doubles in a season (12). Lindsey Cherry had two saves, which ties her for the most in a season. Because of their batting prowess, Sweigart (7) and Wensel (6) ranked third and fourth, respectively, for being hit by a pitch in a season. Jenna Orlando (10) and Biddle (9) are fourth and fifth all-time in the sacrifice column while freshman Maddie Wensel ranks fifth for throwing out 10 baserunners.

"We took great strides with this team this year and there is still so much more within this group. Every step we took this year was recognized by competitors and fans. We didn't get the results we wanted, but we were so close in a lot of ways," Varner recounted. "This is a team that can reset a lot of records in this program and achieve success we have never experienced. Another year of experience and a commitment to doing the little things and finishing things will get us to that level. This was the most competitive season for Lafayette softball since 2009 and we are proud of that growth. We know that is not enough and we have to do better in Patriot League play but we are extremely close and know what we need to do to get better."

Academically, the softball program took home the Department of Athletics Academic Excellence Award, boasting a 3.53 GPA.

"In the classroom, this group yet again reset the academic standards of this program and put together one of the greatest semesters any team at Lafayette has ever had in the classroom,' Varner said. "We set academic excellence within the department and in the Patriot League as goals last year and this group worked hard to realize those accomplishments. We are so proud of them!"