Softball Stars Funk, Latini Receive All-New England Honors

BABSON PARK, Mass. -- After leading the Babson College softball team to a 25-18 record and a trip to the championship round of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament, junior captain Catie Funk (Scarborough, Maine) and senior captain Nicole Latini (East Bridgewater, Mass.) each received All-Region honors this week. Funk was named to the All-New England First Team by both the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) and the New England Intercollegiate Softball Coaches Association (NEISCA), while Latini garnered Third Team honors from the NFCA.

Funk received All-New England honors for the third time in her career after yet another tremendous season for the Beavers. The superstar shortstop became just the second player in program history to earn NEWMAC Player of the Year honors after hitting .411 with single-season program records of 10 home runs, 45 runs scored, and 51 RBIs. Her 16 doubles was the second hightest total in school history, while her 58 hits was fourth most in a single campaign. Also the NEWMAC leader in total bases (104) and slugging percentage (.738), Funk showed great improvement on defense as well, dropping from 21 errors in 2011 to just nine this season - good for a sparkling .951 fielding percetage. This was her third straight All-Region selection and her first as a member of the First Team. With a full season yet to play, Funk is already the Beavers' all-time record holder in career batting average (.430), slugging percentage (.757), homers (23), doubles (53), and total bases (296) while ranking second in both RBIs (127) and runs scored (128).

Latini earned All-New England status for the first time in her outstanding career, garnering a spot on the NFCA Third Team. The three-time All-Conference honoree - including a First Team selection this spring - was magnificent in her senior campaign, batting .396 with 53 hits, 33 runs scored, five homers, and 41 RBIs - all of which were career-highs. The veteran catcher was especially clutch during Babson's thrilling postseason run, blasting a go-ahead grand slam off Coast Guard All-American Hayley Feindel in the sixth inning of the Beavers' 14-10 come-from-behind NEWMAC Tourney win on April 24 and later adding a key two-run single in a 7-3 triumph over top-seeded Springfield four days later. Latini will now graduate as the program's all-time leader in triples (13) while also ranking seventh in on-base percentage (.431), third in slugging (.587), third in hits (176), third in homers (12), second in doubles (52), third in RBIs (122), second in total bases (290), second in walks (61), and fifth in runs scored (112).