Katie Cronin, Grace Jones and Hanna Taylor named All-AAC

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (April 25, 2022) – A trio of Milligan University softball juniors landed on the Appalachian Athletic Conference's all-conference squads, the league office announced on Monday evening. Outfielder Katie Cronin and second baseman Grace Jones were named to the All-AAC First Team and catcher Hanna Taylor earned a spot on the All-AAC Second Team.

Cronin, a returning First Team NAIA All-American and AAC Player of the Year, turned in another outstanding campaign in 2022. She led the AAC in batting for the second-straight season with a .475 average. She ripped 23 extra-base hits with a 13 doubles, a conference-high seven triples and three home runs.

Cronin's 31 runs and 34 RBI both led the Buffs and ranked top-11 in the AAC. Her .475 on-base percentage and .775 slugging percentage ranked second in the conference and she was third in total bases (93). In 36 regular season outings, she had 18 multi-hit games and an extra-base hit in 20 games.

Jones garnered her first all-conference nod of her career after another strong season at the top of the Buffs' lineup. She hit .378 and tied for the team lead with 31 runs scored. For the second-straight year, Jones smacked seven triples, which tied for the AAC lead. She posted a career high 19 RBI and stole nine bases. In 2022, Jones posted 13 multi-hit games and scored in 22 games.

Taylor joined the Buffs in 2022 after two seasons at Walters State and emerged as Milligan's starting catcher and a key bat in the middle of the lineup. Taylor ranked seventh in the AAC with a .392 batting average, drove in 23 runs and notched seven doubles. She enjoyed an 11-game hitting streak and logged 13 multi-hit games this spring.

Senior shortstop April Alvarado earned a spot on the Champions of Character Team. Alvarado hit .375 and ranked in the top 10 of the AAC in walks (18), stolen bases (14), sacrifice bunts (7) and on-base percentage (.474).

Bailey Cantrell, Cronin, Erin Forgety, Allee Griffith, Neelee Griffith, Jones, Cloee-Anna Merritt, Miranda Millington and Kate Pendleton all earned AAC All-Academic status.

Milligan softball posted a 23-13 regular season record and earned the sixth seed in the AAC Tournament. The Buffs square off with third-seeded Tennessee Wesleyan on Tuesday evening at 5:00 p.m. at the Brickyard Ball Fields in Kingsport.