Fitzpatrick Named Liberty League Player of the Year to Highlight Conference Award Winners

Softball | 5/13/2025 11:08:00 AM

With one of its best seasons in the program's 12-year history, the Clarkson University Softball team was rewarded plenty of recognition by the conference on Tuesday when the Liberty League announced its end-of-year award winners, including Liberty League Player of the Year Devin Fitzpatrick.

Fitzpatrick became the second player in program history to earn Liberty League Player of the Year honors, joining co-winner Kayla Robert in the 2021 season. Fitzpatrick was picked to the Liberty League First-Team, along with senior Zoey Kovach and sophomore Lexi Rydelek. Freshman Emily Bulone was chosen as a Liberty League Second-Team All-Star, while Kristen McGaughey earned her second Liberty League Coaching Staff of the Year award.

Fitzpatrick was a force at the plate and in the pitching circle and was named a Liberty League First-Team All-Star at the utility spot for the third straight season. Fitzpatrick led the conference in home runs, runs batted in, slugging percentage, innings pitched, and saves. She ranks sixth nationally in home runs with 15, the most in the conference in a decade, is 21st in slugging percentage at .843, and is tied for 38th in runs batted in with 44. She is also 43rd in total bases (97), one off the conference lead. As a pitcher, Fitzpatrick was sixth in the league in earned run average (2.08), second in strikeouts (90), fourth in victories (13), fifth in opponents' average (.249) while also posting a 1.15 WHIP.

Kovach, selected as a Liberty League All-Star for the third time in her four-year career with the Knights, hit .363/.397/.487 on the year, ending the season on a 19-game hitting streak, the second longest hitting streak in program history. She also posted 14 doubles, which was fourth in the conference, and tied the single-season mark at Clarkson.

Rydelek earned her first all-star nod as a collegian, breaking out with a .394/.449/.690 slash line in her second season at Clarkson. Her five home runs were tied for fifth in the league, while her average was eighth and slugging ranked sixth. She drove in 16 runs and scored 15 more times for the Knights.

Bulone posted solid numbers in her first collegiate season, hitting .352/.382/493. After a slow start, Bulone topped the .300 mark on April 7th and never dipped below that mark again. She recorded 14 runs batted in and had eight extra base hits, including a home run. Her most impressive quality was an ability to make contact, striking out only five times in 76 plate appearances.

Expected to finish outside the Liberty League postseason playoff scene according to the preseason poll, McGaughey earned her Liberty League Coaching Staff of the Year award (along with assistant Sierra Ashley) by guiding the team to a 22-15 record overall and a 10-4 mark in the Liberty League, finishing third in the conference and only one game behind the co-leaders. Clarkson began the season with six straight losses, but quickly righted the ship in the second half of its Florida Trip. Outside of its season-opening doubleheader losses at Middlebury, Clarkson was not swept in another single-team doubleheader the rest of the year.

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Players Mentioned

#3 Devin Fitzpatrick: P/IF; 5' 8"; Junior; R/R

#18 Zoey Kovach: C/UT; 5' 7"; Junior; R/R

#23 Lexi Rydelek: IF; 5' 7"; Freshman; R/R

#22 Emily Bulone: C/IF; 5' 6"; Freshman; R/R

Players Mentioned

#3 Devin Fitzpatrick
: 5' 8"; Junior; R/R
: P/IF

#18 Zoey Kovach
: 5' 7"; Junior; R/R
: C/UT

#23 Lexi Rydelek
: 5' 7"; Freshman; R/R
: IF

#22 Emily Bulone
: 5' 6"; Freshman; R/R
: C/IF