GORHAM, Maine  -  Fourteen members of the 2021 Little East Conference regular season champion University of Southern Maine Huskies' softball team were named 2021 Easton/NFCA All-America Scholar-Athletes as announced by the NFCA in October.  Additionally, the Huskies' softball team earned Division III All-Academic Team status.  A total of 127 softball teams from NCAA Division III received the honor.  Southern Maine ranked 61^st with a team GPA of 3.565.
 
To earn the NFCA Scholar-Athlete distinction, student-athletes must have achieved a cumulative grade-point average of 3.5 or higher through the fall 2020 and spring 2021 semesters. More than 8,800 student-athletes earned the recognition across all divisions – high school and collegiate – in 2020-21. 
 
NFCA All-Region picks Ashley Tinsman (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) and Kirsten Pelletier (West Gardiner, Maine/Messalonskee) are among the 14 Huskies' to earn the honor.  Tinsman, a second team CoSIDA Academic All-American, completed an her outstanding career in 2021. A two-time All-LEC selection, Tinsman hit a strong .434, collecting 56 hits in 129 at-bats with 10 doubles, a triple and eight home runs in her senior campaign.  Tinsman also set the school record for RBI (50) in a season and in a game (7) in 2021.  Tinsman earned her degree in Exercise Science.
 
Pelletier, a first team all-LEC pitcher in 2021, was undefeated in the regular season at 13-0, firing 13 complete games, with a stingy 2.11 earned run average in 99.1 innings of work while holding her opponents to a .258 batting average. During the LEC regular season, Pelletier was 8-0 and was second in ERA (2.38), first in innings pitched (53.0), first in complete games (8), and fifth in batting average against.  Pelletier is completing her graduate degree in Education (Teacher Leadership).
 
Erin Martin (Biddeford, Maine), junior Rona Scott (Beverly, Mass.), and sophomore Madison Day (Otisfield, Maine/Oxford Hills) are also among the 14 Huskies recognized for by the NFCA and 2021 All-LEC selections. Martin earned her degree in Health Science while completing an accelerated MBA.  Scott is a Biology Education major, and Day is pursuing her degree in Sports Management.
 
Martin finished her career as a three-time all-conference outfielder.  She hit .387 in 2021 in the Huskies' leadoff spot.  Scott, recently selected to participate in the NCAA Division III Student Immersion program, earned first team all-conference honors. The Huskies' first baseman, Scott hit .300 with 26 RBI, and led the Huskies and the Little East in putouts and double-plays turned.  She had a solid .985 field percentage.  Day, a freshman shortstop in 2021, earned second team all-conference honors following a remarkable first year.  Earning LEC Rookie of the Week honors twice in season, Day hit .373 and had 21 RBI.  Defensively, Day was outstanding with a .976 fielding percentage with 53 putouts and a team and conference-leading 68 assists. Day's ability defensively led propelled the Huskies to the top fielding team in the LEC.
 
In addition to Tinsman, Pelletier, Martin, Scott and Day, the following Huskies also earned the honor:

• Jadyn Cunningham, Fr., Nursing major, Barrington, N.H./Oyster River
• Brynn Hink, Jr., Sports Management major, Porter, Maine/Sacopee Valley
• Kayla Horner, Sr., Social Work major, Westbrook, Maine
• Allie Mailhiot, Fr., Nursing major, Goffstown, NH
• Lauren Merrill, Fr., Nursing major, Bethel, Maine/Oxford Hills
• Lauren Miller, Jr., Nursing major, St. George, Maine/Camden Hills Regional
• Kaitlyn Nelson, Jr., Recreation & Leisure Studies, Guildhall, Vermont/White Mountains Regional
• Hannah Shields, So., Nursing major, Buckfield, Maine
• Belle Snyder, Fr., Linguistics major, Epping, N.H.

 
The Huskies finished the 2021 season with a record of 31-6-1 and a record of 15-1 in the Little East Conference.  During the season, USM set the school record for consecutive wins (15) and established the program's best winning percentage (.829).  USM's 2021 LEC regular season crown was the first since the 1999 season and the Huskies' berth into the NCAA tournament was their first in 22 seasons.   
 
Southern Maine Athletics has gone to fully digital game programs, please click this link to access the game programs to future Husky home events!