GREENVILLE, Pa. (May 9) – The Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) released its annual All-PAC Softball Teams and award winners on Tuesday morning. After winning its second-straight conference title on Saturday, the Yellow Jackets were well represented on this year's squads with three first-team selections, six second-team honorees and three of the four major yearend awards.
 
For a second-straight year, Waynesburg picked up Coach of the Year, Pitcher of the Year and Newcomer of the Year applause. Brett Shimek repeated as Coach of the Year after guiding the Jackets to a program-record 29 victories (29-8). Over Waynesburg's last two campaigns, it boasts an impressive 56-19 overall mark (28-10 in PAC play). Shimek is the first coach to win the award in consecutive seasons since Thomas More's Lindsay Bramhall accomplished the feat in 2009 and 2010.
 
Sophomore Sydney Wilson (Pentress, W.Va. / Clay-Battelle) became the first player since 2003 (Rachael Schafer, Bethany) to repeat as PAC Pitcher of the Year. Wilson dominated hitters throughout the 2023 campaign. She led the conference in ERA (1.32), opposing batting average (.202), wins (17), complete games (18) and complete game shutouts (7). Her 138.0 innings pitched were good for second in the league and her 105 strikeouts put her in the number four spot.
 
During the 2023 season, Wilson was named PAC Pitcher of the Week three times.
 
Sophomore Grace Higgins (Canonsburg, Pa. / Canon-McMillan) shined in all aspects of the game during her debut season with the Yellow Jackets. Waynesburg's second-straight Newcomer of the Year (Wilson in 2022). She ranks in the top five amongst Waynesburg players in batting average (.400), slugging (.667), on-base percentage (.432), runs scored (32), hits (42), doubles (10), triples (3), home runs (4), total bases (70) and stolen bases (17).
 
Defensively, she led the team in assists (58) and was a part of seven double plays.
 
Waynesburg is the first program to boast back-to-back PAC Newcomer of the Year Awards.
 
Higgins and Wilson were joined on the first team by senior Brin Hunter (West Alexander, Pa. / McGuffey), who picked up the award at catcher. Hunter led Waynesburg in hits (51), runs scored (35) and doubles (15), while also placing in the team's top five in batting average (.415), slugging (.553), on-base percentage (.432), RBIs (27), total bases (68) and steals (8).
 
Behind the plate, Hunter threw out four opposing base runners attempting to steal and showed her overall softball skill set by starting several high leverage games in centerfield. She was lauded as a second-team pick following her sophomore and junior seasons.
 
Waynesburg's six second-team selections include junior first baseman Ella Brookman (Washington, Pa. / Chartiers-Houston), junior shortstop Kayla Gratton (Monroeville, Pa. / Gateway), junior third baseman Sydney Senay (Canonsburg, Pa. / Canon-McMillan), senior outfielder Reghan Benschoter (Newark, Ohio / Granville), freshman outfielder Jasmine Demaske (Waynesburg, Pa. / Jefferson-Morgan) and freshman pitcher Autumn Stemple (Morgantown, W.Va. / University).
 
Brookman, who was a second-team All-PAC pick last year, led Waynesburg in batting average (.429), RBIs (31), total bases (72) and walks drawn (8) in 2023. She also ranked in the team's top five in slugging (.643), on-base percentage (.460), runs scored (22), hits (48), doubles (13), triples (4) and home runs (1). Brookman was named PAC Hitter of the Week on March 13.
 
Gratton, who was a 2022 honorable mention all-conference selection, finished in Waynesburg's top five for batting average (.394), on-base percentage (.434), hits (28), stolen bases (3) and sacrifice bunts (3).
 
Senay, who was a first-team all-conference pick last year and a second-team selection as a freshman, hit .297 with four doubles, two homeruns, 27 RBIs and seven runs scored. In back-to-back playoff games against Westminster, she posted a pair of two-for-four efforts with a double in each game. She drove in three runs over that same stretch.
 
Before having her senior season cut short by an injury on April 11, Benschoter was enjoying arguably her best season as a Yellow Jacket. She was hitting .462 with four doubles, a triple, two homeruns, 21 RBIs and 13 runs scored over 17 games played, all of which were starts. She was slugging .692 and boasted a .500 on-base percentage. Benschoter was also stellar in the outfield, typically left field, where she played error-free defense with 12 putouts.
 
Benschoter ends her collegiate playing career as a three-time All-PAC pick.
 
Demaske burst onto the scene in her debut season and worked her way into the starting lineup. After becoming a regular starter, the Waynesburg native posted team bests in slugging percentage (.718), triples (7), home runs (4) and walks (8). She hit .341 for the season and finished in the top five in runs scored (31), hits (29), RBIs (17), total bases (61) and stolen bases (15).
 
Stemple's outstanding rookie season was capped in the PAC playoffs, where she threw the first conference postseason no-hitter since 2003 during a 1-0 win over Allegheny. For the season, the righty finished fourth in the league in ERA (2.04), sixth in wins (11), third in complete game shutouts (5), fourth in earned runs allowed (28), third in strikeouts (113) and third in opposing batting average (.237).
 
Stemple was honored as the first PAC Pitcher of the Week for 2023 on March 6. Wilson and Stemple became the first pitching duo from the same team to make first and second-team All-PAC in the same year since 2018 (Bethany).

Waynesburg was represented on the 2023 PAC Softball Sportsmanship Team by sophomore Katelynn Britenbaugh (Glenshaw, Pa. / Shaler).
 
For a complete look at this year's All-PAC teams and award winners, click here.
 
As the winner of this year's championship tournament title, Waynesburg secures the league's automatic qualifying bid to the NCAA Division III Softball Championship, with teams and regional site selections announced on Monday, May 15. Regional round play is scheduled for Friday-Sunday, May 19-21 and the Super Regionals will be played Friday-Saturday, May 26-27. The eight teams advancing from the Super Regionals will participate in the Division III Championship finals, slated for Thursday-Wednesday, June 1-7 at Taylor Field in Marshall, Texas.