WORCESTER, Mass. – For the third time in her career, Holy Cross senior Kelly Nelson has been named a 2022 National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Northeast-Region honoree while teammate, sophomore Megan Yurchick, was a utility/pitcher selection for the first time the organization announced Thursday afternoon.

Nelson earns a third team selection for the second time (2019) after earning a second team bid in 2021. A member of the second team, Yurchick becomes the sixth different player in program history to receive All-Region honors from the NFCA.

The Crusader student-athletes are just two of 11 Patriot League players to achieve all-region recognition. Eight players were selected from Boston University, two from Holy Cross, and one from Colgate.

An All-Patriot League first team and Academic All-Conference hurler, Nelson paced the league in strikeouts (233), innings pitched (193), and tied for first in saves (3), while ranking second in opposing batting average (.217), third in ERA (2.25), and fourth in wins (14), which was a personal-best.

One of the top pitchers in program history, Nelson finished her Holy Cross career as the program's all-time leader in strikeouts (603) while ranking second in shutouts (12), third in wins (28), third in ERA (2.56), and complete games (48), and fourth in starts (77). Her 603 strikeouts rank fifth all-time in the history of the conference. In the single-season record books, Nelson holds the top single-season strikeout mark (233, 2022) which is fourth Patriot League history.

A Patriot League second team At-Large selection, Yurchick is only the fourth player in the history of the program to be named to the NFCA All-Region second team.

Making appearances in the circle and in right field, Yurchick appeared in 49 total games, 24 as a pitcher including 16 starts as a groundball specialist, tallying a 7-13 record with a 3.09 ERA, 57 strikeouts, six complete games, two shutouts, and a save in 99.2 innings. In the batter's box, she slashed .279/.300/.359 with two home runs, 12 RBI, six doubles, the second-most hits on the team (40), and 10 runs scored.

Yurchick concluded the 2022 campaign on a 15.2 inning scoreless streak and tallied the fourth-lowest opposing batting average (.256), and seventh-lowest ERA in the league. She is deadlocked for eighth in wins, is 10th in innings pitched and is level for 10th in strikeouts as well.

Under first year head coach Kimberly Stiles, the Crusaders finished the season at 21-29, 8-10 PL, their first season of 20 or more wins since 1999.

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