May 24, 2010

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Things didn't look very promising for UMass Lowell freshman Krista MacKenzie after she suffered a concussion on the team's spring trip to Florida.

But when the former Ipswich Tigers star second baseman was able to return to the lineup she was red hot the rest of the season. By doing so, she has been named to the Northeast-10 All-Rookie Team.

"I missed around 12 games and couldn't wait to get back in there," said MacKenzie, who led her team in hitting at .413 (5th best in the conference). "I was playing center field before the injury and once I returned was in left field, but then the coaches moved me to second base. That's where I had played my last two years at Ipswich, so I felt very comfortable there."

MacKenzie was the best leadoff hitter in the Northeast-10, reaching base an astonishing 75 percent of the time, averaging 1.28 hits per game (4th in the conference).

She finished the season with 23 RBI and scored a team-high 31 runs. MacKenzie also had seven doubles, a .452 on-base percentage and a .947 fielding percentage (with only 7 errors).

MacKenzie was named Freshman of the Week at the end of April. The River Hawks were seeded eighth in the conference tournament, losing to No. 5 Assumption, 7-2 in the first round. They finished with a 23-27 record.

"Krista was certainly a sparkplug in our lineup," said head coach Sean Cotter in a press release. "We struggled when she was out of the lineup, and it's no coincidence that we went on a winning streak when she was healthy. I'm looking forward to great things out of her over the next three years."

MacKenzie is also looking ahead, figuring the River Hawks will be even better next spring. She is enrolled in the college of management and plans to keep busy playing softball this summer.