Burch, McCans, James earn All-NCAC Softball honors

| 2024 All-NCAC Softball Team release |

SPRINGFIELD — Wittenberg senior Julia Burch (Dublin, Ohio/Jerome) and sophomores Meghan McCans (Arcanum, Ohio/Arcanum) and Lilly James (Troy, Ohio/Troy) earned All-North Coast Athletic Conference honors in softball for the 2024 season through balloting by the league's head coaches.

Burch was selected to the All-NCAC First Team in the outfield, and McCans and James were Third Team honorees as an outfielder and pitcher, respectively.

Burch is now a two-time All-NCAC First Team selection, as she also earned the honor as a freshman in 2021. She played in all 42 games this season, posting a .377 batting average with 55 hits, five doubles, 10 RBIs, 31 runs and 22 stolen bases while recording a .980 fielding percentage with just one error defensively in the outfield. Her stolen base total ranks second in the NCAC and eighth all-time at Wittenberg for a single season, and her hit total is tied for second in the NCAC and ranks fourth in program history for a single season. She earned NCAC Player of the Week honors once this season, on April 2.

In 139 career games at Wittenberg, Burch boasts a .365 batting average with 160 hits, 15 doubles, one triple, 50 RBIs, 94 runs and 45 steals. She ranks fifth all-time at Wittenberg in both hits and steals, seventh in runs and 10th in batting average.

McCans' first career All-NCAC honor comes on the heels of a record-breaking 2024 season. She played all 42 games and posted a program-record 36 steals on 38 attempts this season, breaking the prior mark of 33 set by Loren Combs in 2014. That total leads the NCAC and is tied for 20th nationally in NCAA Division III.  She also posted a .400 batting average with 54 hits, three doubles, one triple, 10 RBIs and 37 runs while recording a .991 fielding percentage with just one error defensively in the outfield. Her run total leads the NCAC and ranks fifth all-time at Wittenberg for a single season, and her hit total ranks fourth in the NCAC and fifth in program history for a single season. She earned NCAC Player of the Week honors once this season, on Feb. 27.

In 69 career games at Wittenberg, she has a .342 batting average with 68 hits, three doubles, one triple, 16 RBIs, 49 runs and 44 steals. She currently ranks sixth all-time in career steals.

James earned her first All-NCAC accolade after breaking a program record of her own, recording nine saves on the season to become the all-time leader in career saves with 12. In 34 appearances, including one start, in the circle, she also posted a 7-3 record with a 3.40 ERA and 74 strikeouts to just 22 walks over 72 innings. She ranks first in the conference in saves, fourth in strikeouts and tied for 10th in wins. She was named NCAC Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 27.

In two seasons at Wittenberg, James has pitched in 58 games, making two starts and posting a 7-5 record with a 4.08 ERA and 115 strikeouts in 115 innings.

The Tigers finished the 2024 season with a 21-21 overall record and placed fourth in the NCAC with a 7-7 conference mark under first-year head coach Ashley Goodwin. They increased their win total by 11 from the prior season, broke the program record for single-season steals with 129 and qualified for the four-team NCAC Tournament for the 14th time in program history and first since 2018.