CAMBRIDGE, MA -- Lesley's NECC Champion softball team ended the season as the national leader in batting average, hitting an amazing .390 as a team in going 28-12 on the year and winning a fifth straight conference title.

The Lynx .390 clip was not only the second highest in school history but bested Neumann (PA) by 16 percentage points, as the Knights hit .374 to finish second nationally. Coach Jen Benway's club ran away with the New England Collegiate Conference batting crown by some 74 percentage points, besting No. 2 Daniel Webster, which hit .316 as a team.

Led by sophomore Nicole Mercurio, who hit a team-best .438 for her sophomore year in earning NECC Tournament MVP honors, Lesley possessed three of the top five hitters in the league, including NECC Player of the Year Jenna Fralick (fourth, .429) and all-league first teamer Emily Mangiaratti (fifth, .422).

Lesley also finished second in the nation in runs per game, scoring 8.38 per game, second to only Wilson (PA) College, which posted 9.84 runs per contest. With Mercurio's Lynx leading the way, the top 10 national batting average leaders are listed below:

Courtesy: NCAA & Lesley Athletics