FOREST, Va. --- Bridgewater College, University of Lynchburg, and Virginia Wesleyan University each earned six all-conference honors with Lynchburg and Randolph-Macon College securing two special plaudits each to headline the 2022 All-ODAC Softball Awards.

Virginia Wesleyan University third baseman Julia Sinnett garnered ODAC Player of the Year laurels, while Randolph-Macon righty Gracie Ellis collected both ODAC Pitcher and Rookie of the Year accolades. Lynchburg mentor Dawn Simmons was tabbed the ODAC Coach of the Year, while fellow Hornet Sophie Tully received ODAC/Virginia Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete of the Year recognition from the league's athletic communications personnel.

This season's awards lists feature nine players that earned all-league status in 2021, including five on this year's All-ODAC First Team. VWU's Sinnett and outfielder Ariana Rolle are joined by Roanoke College ace Jada Karnes as repeat first teamers. Bridgewater catcher Sarah Wimer and Lynchburg's Tully made the leap from the All-ODAC Third Team.

Marlins righty Emily Seale, the 2021 ODAC Rookie of the Year, repeats as an All-ODAC Second Team choice. The same can be said of Bridgewater second baseman Torrie Shifflett and Roanoke third baseman Makayla Austin. Ferrum College outfielder Arielle Eure is a third team choice for a second straight season.

RELATED: 2021 All-ODAC Softball Teams | All-Time All-ODAC Softball Teams

Sinnett, a senior from Woodbridge, Va., is writing a strong closing chapter to a career that includes four ODAC titles and a pair of Division III championships. Sinnett, the 2022 ODAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player, is leading the ODAC in RBI (53), slugging (.830), and triples (6), all of which are career-highs and ranked among the nation's best. She is second in total bases (93), fourth in homers (9), and fifth in runs scored (34). Twenty-eight of her 41 hits have gone for extra bases. With the NCAA Tournament upcoming for ODAC champion and nationally 11th-ranked Virginia Wesleyan, Sinnett is hitting .366 with a .423 OBP. She is also strong in the field with a .938 fielding percentage with a cannon for a right arm at third base.

Ellis, a freshman from New Kent, Va., has been nothing short of a true ace in her first season in Ashland. She has made 28 appearances for the nationally 14th-ranked Yellow Jackets including 21 starts. She owns a 19-5 record with three saves. She is second in the ODAC in complete games (19), shutouts (7) and innings pitched (155.0). She is #1 in strikeouts (212) and strikeouts-per-seven innings (9.57), both of which should be inside Division III's top-20 when the statistics are updated later this week. Ellis has fanned 10 or more batters a league-best nine times with a season-high 17 punchouts in a 1-0 shutout of Ferrum.

Simmons is in her 24th season guiding the Hornets softball program. A three-time All-ODAC First Team choice at third base during her playing career at Lynchburg, Simmons enjoys her sixth ODAC top coaching honor to go with recognition in 2001, 2003-05, and 2013. She led Lynchburg to the top seed in the ODAC Tournament with a 13-5 conference record and used that position to finish third. The Hornets are 26-19 following the ODAC Tournament and currently ranked 24th in the NFCA Division III Top-25 Poll. Simmons boasts a 666-346-2 (.658) career record, making her the winningest coach in ODAC softball history.

Tully, a junior from Moseley, Va., pairs this honor with an All-ODAC First Team selection. In the classroom, Tully maintains a 4.0 grade point average as a philosophy and political science double major with minors in law & society and english. She is the President of the Westover Honors College executive board and serves as a tutor in the Wilmer Writing Center. Lynchburg's Female Academic Athlete of the Year in 2020 and 2021, Tully earned the John R. Scudder Jr. Award from the philosophy department in 2021. Her varied background also includes a field internship with a Democratic congressional campaign committee (VA-7) and a research initiative called The HummingBurg Project, which investigates hummingbird activity on Lynchburg's campus.

On the field, the Hornets first baseman is sixth in the ODAC in batting (.398), ninth in OBP (.462), and fifth in slugging (.680). She is fourth in the conference in RBI (39), tied for sixth in hits (51) and homers (6), and tied for eighth in doubles (12). Tully has hit safely in 31-of-42 games played with 17 multi-hit games. She earned a spot on the ODAC All-Tournament Team.

Listed below is the full slate of 2022 All-ODAC Softball Awards. For more information, visit the websites of the participating schools, or go to the ODAC's home on the Internet at www.odaconline.com. Don't forget to become a fan of the ODAC on Facebook and follow the @odacathletics on Twitter and Instagram.

2022 ALL-ODAC SOFTBALL AWARDS
ODAC Player of the Year: Julia Sinnett, Sr., 3B, Virginia Wesleyan
ODAC Pitcher of the Year: Gracie Ellis, Fr., Randolph-Macon
ODAC Coach of the Year: Dawn Simmons, Lynchburg
ODAC Rookie of the Year: Gracie Ellis, Fr., Randolph-Macon
ODAC/Va. Farm Bureau Scholar-Athlete: Sophie Tully, Jr., 1B, Lynchburg