Softball Places SEVEN on All Conference Team
Player of the year Sarah Hough, Pitcher of the Year Angelina Vartuli and Coach of the Year Joe Hough lead the Owls' landslide of awards.
WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State softball's dominant 2026 season in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference was rewarded as the Owls placed seven players on the all-conference teams, led by senior shortstop and Player of the Year Sarah Hough (Southwick, Mass.), Pitcher of the Year Angelina Vartuli (Middletown, Conn.) and Coach of the Year Joe Hough.
That triumvirate was joined by fellow first-teamers Hannah Wodecki (Southampton, Mass./Hampshire Regional) at third base, Mia Alfonso (Dalton, Mass./Pittsfield) at catcher, Kassidy LaTour (Lebanon, Conn./ Lyman Memorial) in the outfield, and utility player Rylie Camacho (Attleboro, Mass.), plus starting pitcher Joss Mettey (Easthampton, Mass./Hampshire Regional) landed a spot on the second team.
Westfield is 35-1 overall and finished the conference regular season 15-1 to win the league's regular season title. The Owls are ranked 10th in the nation in D3 in the NCAA NPI rankings, and 21st in the NFCA/GoRout Coaches Poll.
Sarah Hough landed the league's top honor for a positional player, and was the league's first team shortstop. She was an all-conference pick at 2B as a sophomore. She brings a .402 batting average and a season-record tying nine home runs with 48 runs batted in into this week's conference tournament. In the field, she's made just six errors while anchoring the Owls infield defense.
Vartuli has been dominant from start to finish this season with a 12-0 record and three saves, primarily serving as the ace of the Owls staff, but closing games in key situations as well. In 75.1 innings pitched she has posted 62 strikeouts and a 1.02 ERA, which has her ranked eight in the nation in that category.
Joe Hough has led the Owls to an improved win total in each of his four seasons at the helm of the program, setting a school record for wins in each of the last three seasons, culminating with this year's 35-1 mark – the most wins by any Westfield State team in any sport in the history of the University. Hough's Owls rank in the top 10 in the country in nine statistical categories, including a scoring offense that is third in the country at 8.94 runs per game, while the pitching staff has surrendered just 2.14 earned runs per game. Hough earns his third straight BSN Sports Coach of the Year award.
FULL ALL CONFERENCE TEAM LISTING
Senior 3B Wodecki becomes a three-time all-conference selection for the Owls. She's batting at a .430 clip with four home runs, 16 doubles, 32 runs batted in, and 44 runs scored this season. She tied the Owls career home run record on Saturday with her 17th career blast, and is over 200 hits for her collegiate career.
Senior C Alfonso is batting .369 with five home runs, 33 rbi and 25 runs scored while handling the league's top pitching staff behind the plate. She's cracked 15 career home runs as an Owl and makes her third appearance on the league's all-conference teams.
Senior OF/C Kassidy LaTour has put up video-game numbers from the fifth spot in the batting order, hitting at a .457 clip, with five home runs, 15 doubles, 41 RBI, 31 runs scored and seven stolen bases. She has a .504 on-base percentage and a .800 slugging percentage for an incredible 1.304 OPS. She has split time between the outfield and spells Alfonso behind the plate, where she has thrown out 28 percent of opposing base stealers. LaTour appears on the all-conference team for the second straight year.
Sophomore Rylie Camacho has seen time at second base and the outfield while becoming a fixture in the leadoff spot where she is batting .360 with a .496 on-base percentage, scoring 39 runs and driving in 17 with a seven steals, and been part of five double plays in the field.
Mettey, a junior, is vying for top billing on the Owls pitching staff with an 11-1 record with one save, starting 14 games with a 3.48 ERA, and walked just 12 hitters in 66.1 innings of work.
Westfield will host the MASCAC Tournament this weekend, starting with a quarter-final round game on Thursday at 3:30 p.m. against #6 seed MCLA. The tourney's semifinals and finals are set for Friday and Saturday at Westfield State's Sullivan Field.