Peabody, Gilbert, & Leasure Collect MASCAC All-Conference Honors

MASCAC Press Release

NORTH ADAMS, Mass.— The MASCAC conference office today announced that senior second baseman Hailey Peabody (West Springfield, MA), sophomore designated player Amelia Leasure (Pittsfield, MA), and first-year pitcher/infielder Hannah Gilbert (Colrain, MA) have been named to the MASCAC All-Conference Softball Teams. Peabody was named to the first team, while Leasure and Gilbert were named to the second team.

Westfield State University's Sarah Hough was named the Player of the Year, while Westfield State's Angelina Vartuli picked up Pitcher of the Year. Rookie of the Year went to Salem State's Charlie Benesh. Westfield State's Joe Hough was named the BSN Sports Coach of the Year for the second year in a row.

Peabody picked up her third MASCAC All-Conference appointment, having been named to the second team at the conclusion of the 2024 and 2025 seasons. The senior Trailblazer captain appeared in 32 of MCLA's 37 games, starting at second base, third base, and center field. She was scattered among the team and conference leaders in many offensive categories, including batting average (1^st team / 5^th conference, .421), slugging percentage (1^st / 6^th, .636), on base percentage (1^st / 7^th, .476), runs scored (2^nd / T-8^th, 33), hits (2^nd /T-10^th, 78), RBI (5^th / 42^nd, 15), doubles (3^rd / T-11, 10), triples (2^nd / T-11 2), homeruns (2^nd / T-12^th, 3), total bases (T-2^nd / T-9^th, 68), hit by pitch (T-1^st / 4^th, 5), stolen bases (1^st / 4^th, 17), at bats (3^rd / T-27^th, 107) and total plate appearances (4^th / T-25^th, 125). The senior played a key role in the Trailblazers' sweep of a doubleheader with Anna Maria College on April 8^th, capping the day with a pair of homers among her four hits, adding three RBI. She also recorded four hits, including a pair of doubles, and an RBI as MCLA secured a split of a doubleheader with the Massachusetts Maritime Academy.

Leasure earned her first MASCAC All-Conference recognition. Despite only playing 23 of MCLA's 37 games, the designated player was among the team leaders in batting average (3^rd, .328), slugging percentage (5^th, .410), and RBI (4^th, 16). The sophomore transfer also played a large part in the Trailblazers' sweep at Anna Maria, driving in five runs on five hits, including two doubles, as MCLA won by scores of 12-4 and 14-0.

Gilbert added to her 2026 MASCAC honors collection, adding her first All-Conference selection to her three Rookie of the Week and one Pitcher of the Week nominations. The first-year student athlete was one of only three players who appeared in all 37 of MCLA's games, starting all over the infield with seven games at first base, 13 at second, two at third, and 12 at pitcher. She was among the team leaders in slugging percentage (2^nd, .607), on base percentage (4^th, .377), runs scored (3^rd, 27), hits (4^th, 34), RBI (1^st, 31), doubles (1^st, 14), triples (T-4^th, 1), home runs (1^st, T-3^rd in MASCAC, 6), total bases (T-2^nd, 68), walks (T-1^st, 14), at bats (2^nd, 112), and total plate appearances (3^rd, 130). She was also no slouch in the circle, ranking among the MASCAC leaders in wins (T-7^th, 9), innings pitched (8^th, 92.2), strikeouts (4^th, 70), and strikeouts per game (7^th, 5.29). The April 8^th doubleheader with Anna Maria was also a big day for Gilbert as she threw her second no-hitter of the season, following her no-no against SUNY Cobleskill on March 25^th, in the day's second game, while adding a home run in both games, going 4-7 at the plate with four hits and four runs driven in. She followed that day up with three home runs in a doubleheader at Bay Path University on April 9^th, when she collected three hits and six RBI. The first year had a season-high nine strikeouts, both against VTSU-Johnson on March 29^th and against Bridgewater State University on April 18^th.

The All-MASCAC First Team consisted of Peabody (second base), Bridgewater State's Angelina  Lynch (outfield), Fitchburg State's Jessica Mueller (catcher), Framingham State's Ellie Etemad-Gilbertson (outfield), Mass. Maritime's Kelsey Booker (designated player), Salem State's Alanis Toledano (first base), Westfield State's Hannah Wodecki (third base), Sarah Hough (shortstop), Mia Alfonso (catcher), Kassidy LaTour (outfield), Rylie Camacho (utility), and Vartuli (pitcher), and Worcester State's Peyton Maloney (pitcher).

Joining Leasure (designated player) and Gilbert (utility) on the second team were Framingham State's Eliza Carignan (third base) and Jocelyn Pope (catcher), Salem State's Allison Frost (outfield) and Charlie Benesh (pitcher), Westfield State's Joss Mettey (pitcher), and Worcester State's Morgan Keefe (second base), Emma Lapoint (shortstop), Cali Brouillard (outfield), and Amanda Adamuska (first base) and Bailey Tammaro (outfield).

Peabody, Leasure, Gilbert, and MCLA are back in action this Thursday when they travel to Westfield State for the quarterfinal of the MASCAC Playoffs for a matchup with the top-seeded Owls. First pitch will be at 3:30 p.m.

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