Wheaton College Pitcher Named to 2015 Capital One Academic All-American Division III Softball Team

Wheaton College senior pitcher Emily Berardi (Boston, Mass./Boston Latin) and junior center fielder Emma Hart (Lincoln, R.I./Lincoln) have both been named to the 2015 Capital One Academic All-America® Division III Softball Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America.

Berardi and Hart, who are now the ninth and tenth Academic All-America® selections in Wheaton College athletics history, were voted to the second team for their athletic and academic accomplishments.

Both student-athletes now join current Associate Director of Athletics and Senior Woman Administrator Lisa Yenush ‘90 (softball), Dina Terceira ‘99 (softball), Erin Duffy ‘05 (soccer), Caitlin Grant ‘09 (lacrosse), Kathleen Carroll ‘10 (soccer), Hailey Colburn ‘12 (lacrosse),Matt Sexton ’14 (swimming), and Eric Jensen ’13 (baseball), in the exclusive Wheaton College Academic All-America club.

Duffy, Hart and Terceira hold the distinction of earning both All-America and Academic All-America accolades in their respective sports during their careers, while Jensen is the only student-athlete at Wheaton to ever be selected to an Academic All-America first team, male or female.

With Berardi and Hart’s selections to the 2015 Capital One Academic All-America® Division III second team, the softball program leads all teams at Wheaton College with four honorees total.

Hart finished the 2015 season with a .507/.544/.622 (.avg/.obp/.slg) slash line alongside 58 runs, 75 hits, seven doubles, two triples, a pair of home runs, 22 RBI, 11 walks and 30 stolen bases. Hart’s 58 runs rank second overall in a single-season in program history, while her batting average and stolen bases are fifth, and her hits total is tied for sixth.

In addition to those numbers, Hart produced 26 multi-hit games this spring, a 12-game hitting streak from March 12 to April 10 and reached base safely in 21 straight contests to start the season. Hart also hit .477 with runners in scoring position, .406 with two outs and advanced runners at a .632 success rate in 44 games (all starts). As a team, Wheaton went 30-2 when Hart scored at least one run in a game.

Hart, who is a biology major, claimed National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-America accolades and New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Player of the Year honors earlier this season. Hart also is a two-time NEWMAC Academic All-Conference selection (3.50 GPA or higher), a Merit Scholar and claimed multiple Dean’s List citations.

Berardi posted a 16-7 record in the circle for the Lyons this spring alongside a 2.06 earned run average (ERA) on 109 innings pitched. Berardi also registered 65 strikeouts (4.17 per game), eight complete games (three shutouts) and held opponents to a .258 batting average.

At the plate, Berardi hit .452/.476/.806 with 22 runs, 42 hits, 13 doubles, one triple, six home runs, 29 RBI, seven walks, and two stolen bases.

Berardi, who is a classics major with a minor in general education, collected NEWMAC All-Conference first team honors and NFCA All-New England Region second team accolades in 2015. The Lyons’ dual-threat also garnered several awards from the college including Wheaton Athlete of the Year laurels and the Linda Frances Epstein ’82 award.

Along with those merits, Berardi is a Balfour Scholar and a May Fellow and a three-time NEWMAC Academic All-Conference selection.

To be eligible for Academic All-America® consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative G.P.A. of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director.

Since the program’s inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America® honors on more than student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.

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