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Abdul Voted Player of the Year, Three Selected Softball All-Conference

Left to right: sophomore Elle Burbank, first-year Kaylah Abdul, first-year Kristen Mackenzie.
Left to right: sophomore Elle Burbank, first-year Kaylah Abdul, first-year Kristen Mackenzie.

SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine — Three members of the Southern Maine Community College (SMCC) softball team were selected to the 2017 Yankee Small College Conference (YSCC) All-Conference Team. First-year Kaylah Abdul (South Berwick, Maine) headlined the voting earned Player of the Year status and first-year Kristen Mackenzie (Seabrook, N.H.) and sophomore Elle Burbank (Bethel, Maine) secured two more spots on the nine-player list.

Abdul led the YSCC and United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) with a .597 batting average, .636 on-base percentage (OBP), and a .970 slugging percentage. Most impressively, the three-hitter finished her season leading the nation with 46 runs-batted-in (RBI's) in just 77 plate appearances, 33 plate appearances fewer than the second best 42 RBI's.

As a member of the pitching staff, Mackenzie finished with six wins and an earned run average of 4.56, which ranked a conference-third in both categories. From the dish, the lead-off hitter posted a .315 batting average in a team-leading 73 at-bats. She also led the Lady SeaWolves in walks (10) and matched a team-high 32 runs scored.

Starting 17 games behind the plate, Burbank was one of three players in the conference to hit above .500, sporting a .536 mark that ranked third in the USCAA. Burbank scored 32 runs and collected 14 RBI's to go along with her .612 OBP. The catcher concluded her 2017 campaign with a team-best .976 fielding percentage in 84 total chances.

The Lady SeaWolves finished 9-1 in conference play and 16-5 overall—their highest win total since the 2011-12 season.

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