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COLLEGE PARK, Md. - A trio of Virginia Tech softball players were honored for their play this year, being named all-conference Thursday morning. Juniors Lauren Gaskill (second team) and Kylie McGoldrick (third team) and sophomore Katey Smith (third team) were all named to the All-ACC team, as voted on by the coaches.

In a change from previous years, only conference statistics were weighed when voting.

Gaskill, a shortstop from Mt. Holly, N.J., led the Hokies in ACC play with a .352 average. She also had six doubles, four home runs and 14 RBIs to go along with nine stolen bases on conference play. It’s the second all-conference honor for Gaskill as she made the second team in 2012.

McGoldrick, a second baseman from Stratford, N.J., was second in batting average in conference play with a .341 average. She also had nine doubles, three home runs and 12 RBIs in Tech’s 28 ACC contests. She was also a first team selection last year.

Smith, from Falmouth, Va., earned her first all-conference honor after hitting .322 with six doubles, five home runs and a team-leading 25 RBIs in conference play.

Tech, the No. 3 seed in the ACC Championship, will play sixth-seeded Syracuse Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. in the first round. The game will be played at Maryland Softball Stadium here in College Park. It can be seen on the ACC’s regional sports networks and on ESPN3, an online-only broadcast, outside the ACC footprint. Danny Nokes will have an audio-only call on HokiesXtra, which is free through the app.

Florida State’s Maddie O’Brien was named the ACC Player of the Year, while the Seminoles’ Lacey Waldrop and Lonni Alameda were named Pitcher of the Year and Coach of the Year, respectively. Notre Dame’s Karley Wester was tabbed the ACC Freshman of the Year.

Ten schools were represented on the 2014 All-ACC Teams, led by Florida State with six representatives and Notre Dame with five. Virginia Tech, North Carolina, Boston College and Syracuse had three, while Georgia Tech, NC State and Pitt each had two. Maryland rounded out the field with one representative. You can read the full ACC release here.

Individual Award Winners
Player of the Year – Maddie O’Brien, Florida State
Pitcher of the Year –Lacey Waldrop, Florida State
Freshman of the Year – Karley Wester, Notre Dame
Coach of the Year – Lonni Alameda, Florida State

All-ACC First Team
Lacey Waldrop, Jr., P, Florida State
Maddie O’Brien, Jr., SS, Florida State
Karley Wester, Fr., OF, Notre Dame
Micaela Arizmendi, So., 1B Notre Dame
Courtney Senas, Sr., OF, Florida State
Kristen Brown, So., SS, North Carolina
Emily Weiman, Jr., P, NC State
Laura Winter, Sr., P, Notre Dame
Sydney O’Hara, Fr., P, Syracuse
Maddie Lionberger, So., 2B, Georgia Tech

All-ACC Second Team
Ashley Thomas, Sr., SS, Georgia Tech
Jessica Burroughs, Fr., P, Florida State
Emilee Koerner, Jr., OF, Notre Dame
Renada Davis, Jr., SS, NC State
Candice Beards, Sr., 1B, Maryland
Jenna Kelly, So., 1B, North Carolina
Lauren Gaskill, Jr., SS, Virginia Tech
Aquilla Mateen, So., OF, North Carolina
Tory Speer, Sr., C, Boston College
Carly Thea, Jr., OF, Pitt

All-ACC Third Team
Jasmine Watson, Sr., 1B, Syracuse
Victoria East, So., 1B, Florida State
Cassidy Whidden, Jr., C, Notre Dame
Shirley Daniels, Sr., OF, Syracuse
Tori Nirschl, So., OF, Pitt
Kylie McGoldrick, Jr., 2B, Virginia Tech
Nicole D’Argento, Sr., P, Boston College
Megan Cooley, So., OF, Boston College
Briana Hamilton, Sr., 3B, Florida State
Katey Smith, So., C, Virginia Tech

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