#21
Position: OF
Bats: R
Throws: R
College: Dickinson College
Resides: Redding, CT

When Joel Barlow High of Redding, CT won the 2017 CIAC Class M softball championship the Falcons boasted a devastating 1-2 batting punch. With the addition of Kristen Acocella to the Stratford Brakettes roster in 2020, the combo of Acocella and WMS All-America shortstop Briana Marcelino is back in business. Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA, was happy when Acocella decided to enroll. Kristen is a Division I talent playing at a D-III school. An injury in the summer of her junior year at Barlow kept her out of sight from the scouts at the summer showcases. It also kept her off the volleyball court her senior year. But it didn't stop the versatile outfielder from putting up robust numbers that spring when she hit .402 with 41 hits, 16 RBI, and 34 runs scored in that championship season, to go along with four home runs and 11 extra base hits. Her career totals were even better with a .447 batting average, 153 hits (school record), 98 RBI and 22 home runs, one behind all-time leader Marcelino, now the standout at UConn. A three-time Connecticut All-State pick, Acocella was second-team all-conference with a .360 batting average in 2019. She is majoring in International Business & Management.