TROY, N.Y. – First-year Carra Cleaves was recognized for her excellent rookie season with the Union College softball team this year by earning All-Liberty League honorable mention, the conference office announced on Tuesday.
 
Cleaves is one of only six Liberty League pitchers to be recognized with All-Conference honors this season and is the first Union hurler to be recognized since Allyson Staats '15 was named to the All-Liberty League second team in 2015.
 
The first-year had an excellent rookie campaign for the Garnet Chargers in 2025, posting an 8-6 record with a 2.69 earned run average and 90 strikeouts in 101.2 innings of work. She finished the season second in the Liberty League in strikeouts and saves (2), third in innings pitched, sixth in opposing batting average (.257) and ninth in ERA. Her 90 strikeouts are 12th overall on Union's single-season list and the third-most in a season by a Union rookie behind Alyssa Wolejko '14 (108 in 2011) and Abby Arceneaux '06 HOF '24 (91 in 2003).
 
Her season highlights included a no-hitter against SUNY Potsdam, the program's first since Staats in 2015, as well as 2-1 victories against both the University of Rochester and Ithaca College, handing the top-two teams in the Liberty League one of their three conference losses each on the year.
 
With Cleaves leading the way, Union went 12-19 under first-year head coach Chris Comino, doubling the team's win total from 2024 and tying for fifth place in the Liberty League standings.