Former Nansemond River High School standout Kelly Lafferty was selected first team All-North Coast Athletic Conference and Rookie of the Year.

In her first season on the Allegheny College softball team, Lafferty immediately made an impact. She is the first player at the school to win the rookie award since 2009.

In 32 games, the Suffolk native hit .430 with 33 runs, 46 hits and 13 doubles, leading Allegheny in all of those categories. She also led the team with 19 walks to go with 18 RBIs. She had 15 multi-hit games. Lafferty mentioned that her goal before the season was just to come in and earn a spot on the team. With her postseason awards, she went from trying to earn a spot to being a standout.

“I’ve felt very good about how my season went this year,” she said. “I just wanted to come in and play my best, and I think I’ve achieved all of those goals. I want to continue to push myself.”

She didn’t initially think she was going to have as big of a season as she did. However, her coaches were very happy with how the season went and are looking forward to how she can build upon this for next season. The former Nansemond River standout set the bar pretty high in her first year, and she just wants to keep continuing to play at a higher level.

“I had a great season this year, and I plan on continuing that for next year,” she said. “I just want to do the best I can for my team. We had already exceeded expectations by finishing fourth in our conference. I just want to continue to help us be better.”

Last year, Lafferty was at Nansemond River helping the Lady Warriors to the Class 5 state semifinals. She was an all-conference and all-region selection in her time at Nansemond River.