Seven CAC softball players were named to the 2013 ECAC South All-Star team, including Salisbury sophomore Rachel Johnson, who was named the ECAC South Pitcher of the Year.

Johnson was joined on the south first team by Sea Gull seniors Michelle Gravdahl and Sarah Alpaugh and freshman Paige Knussman along with Frostburg State senior Taylor Vandegrift and junior Caitlin Lovend.

Salisbury senior Hannah Mills was named to the second team.

Johnson finished the 2013 season as one of the best pitchers in the nation, with a 29-3 record, a 0.82 earned-run average while striking out 340 batters in 204 innings pitched. Johnson finished the year ranked second in the nation in shutouts, hits allowed per seven innings, victories and strikeouts per seven innings.

As the starting catcher, Gravdahl called nearly every pitch this season for the SU pitching staff, which finished with the nation's fourth-best ERA (1.13). Also a threat at the plate, Gravdahl finished 12th in the nation in on-base percentage (.568), while finishing in the top 50 in the country in runs batted in per game (1.09), walks (31), slugging percentage (.791) and home runs (11).

Alpaugh was part of the table setting for the middle of the Sea Gull batting order, batting second in the order throughout the majority of the season. Alpaugh batted .387, second on the team, and scored 41 runs. She finished the year second in the NCAA with 0.7 sacrifice hits per game.

Knussman started just 19 games, but appeared in 34 of Salisbury's 46 contests. The designated player hit .381 (third on the team), with three doubles, one home run and 22 RBIs. Knussman had a .429 on-base percentage and struck out just twice in 63 at-bats.

Vandegrift capped a stellar four-year career by becoming the program's first-ever National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-American. She hit a career-best .424, set a pair of individual school records and tied Lovend for a third school mark.

A three-time All-Capital Athletic Conference selection, Vandegrift led the league and set school records in both hits (70) and at-bats (165) and tied Lovend for the single-season mark with 48 runs scored.

Vandegrift appeared in 158 games during her Frostburg career and is second all-time in runs (125) and hits (187), third in at-bats (495), fourth in total bases (219), sixth in batting average (.377) and seventh in both RBI (71) and walks (42). She led the team in runs, hits, triples (4) and at-bats.

Lovend, a three-time ECAC All-Star, ranked third in the country in RBI (61), fifth in RBI per game (1.36), 18th in home runs (12), 33rd in home runs per game (.27), 41st in walks (.62), 55th in slugging percentage (.755) and 61st in runs per game (1.07).

Lovend, a three-time First Team All-CAC selection, drove in a school record 61 RBI and was one of three players in all of NCAA Division III softball with 60 or more on the season.

The selection of both Vandegrift and Lovend marks the first time that two Bobcats have been named ECAC All-Stars in the same season.

The tandem helped FSU finish the 2013 season with a school record 33-12 overall mark and the ECAC South Region Tournament Title. The Bobcats finished 14th in the nation in batting average (.351), were fourth in home runs per game (1.04), fifth in slugging percentage (.526) and 10th in scoring (7.29).

Mills led Salisbury with 51 RBIs and ranked 38th in the nation in RBIs per game (1.11), while her 10 home runs were second on the squad and 39th in the country. One of six players to start all 46 games for the Gulls, Mills' 12 doubles were a team best while she was second on the roster with a .727 slugging percentage.

To see the entire ECAC South All-Star Team, click here.