WINTHROP, Mass. - After a productive week both at the plate and in the pitching circle, Mel Rees (Middleborough, Mass.) has been named the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Softball Rookie of the Week as the conference office announced its weekly awards Monday, April 29.
Offensively, Rees scored one run in each of Regis' five victories, batting .429 (9-for-21) with an .810 slugging percentage. She went 5-for-8 with two doubles and four RBI during last Wednesday's doubleheader sweep over Mass Maritime. Saturday against Dean, she hit a home run in the third inning of the second game to start the Pride's rally from a 2-0 deficit that turned into a 6-3 victory.
In Sunday's first game at USJ, Rees hit her seventh home run of the season, the most by a Regis player in a single season in 13 years. She also pitched that game, earning her third complete game victory of the week as she battled back from a three-run third inning to retire the final 10 Blue Jay hitters in a row in the Pride's 5-3 victory that kept Regis in postseason contention.
Rees pitched one-hitters against both Mass Maritime and Dean, facing just one batter over the minimum against the Buccaneers as 53 of her 70 pitches were strikes in that contest. After a six-inning complete game in the first game against the Bulldogs, she came on in relief in the second game and allowed just one hit and one walk in 2 1/3 innings, striking out five batters as she picked up her second save of the season.
In 2024, Rees batted .392 (40-for-102) with eight doubles, three triples, and seven home runs for a .735 slugging percentage, second in the GNAC. In the pitching circle, she finished the season 8-3 with two saves and five complete games, striking out 91 batters in 100 1/3 innings of action, fourth in the GNAC in strikeouts.
Rees was previously named GNAC Player of the Week and Rookie of the Week April 1 after going 6-for-7 in a doubleheader sweep over Fisher College, plus she threw a complete game in the nightcap, allowing just three hits and one walk while striking out a season-high 10 batters.
The Regis College softball team finished the 2024 season with a 12-22 overall record, including a 6-12 mark in conference contests. Within the GNAC South Division, the Pride posted a 5-9 record to end up sixth in the division, missing the GNAC Softball Tournament by one game.