Rentzel, Purcell Named All-Northeast Conference
Senior's Evie Rentzel and Eileen Purcell were named All-Northeast Conference on Wednesday afternoon.
A pair of Central Connecticut softball players were named All-Northeast Conference on Wednesday afternoon via Twitter and a release sent out by the Northeast Conference front office. Senior outfielder Evie Rentzel was named to the All-Conference First Team and classmate Eileen Purcell was named to the All-Conference Second Team at shortstop. Rentzel and Purcell played instrumental roles in helping the Blue Devils finish the regular season with an 18-26-1 overall record and 7-9 mark in NEC play as the team's top two hitters all year.
Rentzel, an All-NEC Second Team selection as a freshman in 2013, concludes her career with an All-NEC First Team nod after leading the Blue Devils in six major offensive categories over the 2016 campaign. She paced the Blue Devils with a .336 batting average, which was tied for the ninth highest across the NEC circuit, and also led the team in triples (2), home runs (4), RBI (26), slugging percentage (.511) and on-base percentage (.395). Against NEC opponents, Rentzel hit .375 with a team-high four home runs and 13 RBI, while slugging .646 and scoring 11 runs.
Purcell makes her her first appearance on an All-Conference list picking up All-NEC Second Team honors at shortstop. She obliterated opposing NEC pitching this season finishing with a .453 batting average, good for second best in the league. The Nutley, NJ native racked up 24 hits in 53 NEC at-bats including five doubles, a triple and two home runs which resulted in a .698 slugging percentage. She also drove in eight RBI and scored 13 runs in conference games. Overall, Purcell hit .329 on the year with a team-high 47 hits and 67 total bases. She totaled nine doubles, a triple and three home runs while posting a .953 fielding percentage as the everyday shortstop for CCSU.
