Story courtesy of Christa Parulis-Kaye, Assistant Commissioner of Media Relations
For Immediate Release:
April 30, 2009
ATTLEBORO, Mass. - Eight of the nine sponsored programs were represented on 2009 New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Softball All-Conference Team, it was announced today by Commissioner Del Malloy. In addition to the All-NECC honors, four separate major individual award winners and the team sportsmanship award were also voted upon and selected this week.
Mitchell College junior catcher Sara Krolikowski (Bristol, Conn.), a criminal justice major, was named the 2009 NECC Softball Player of the Year. In conference play, Krolikowski played and started all 16 games with a .500 batting average and a 1.04 slugging percentage. She is ranked third in NECC play for her batting average (.500), first in runs batted in (24), fourth in hits (24), fifth in runs scored (20) and leads the league in home runs (8). Defensively, Krolikowski had 111 putouts, seven assists and only three errors behind the plate for a .975 fielding percentage.
The Lesley Lynx took top honors as they finished 15-1 in conference play earning the top seed at the 2009 NECC Softball Championship. Lesley University senior pitcher Alicia Burnett (Gulf Breeze, Fla.) nabbed the 2008 NECC Softball Pitcher of the Year for her perfect 8-0 finish in conference play. Burnett, a counseling/psychology major, led all hurlers in the NECC with a 0.81 ERA for her 51.2 innings pitched. In conference play, she had four shutouts allowing only nine runs on 34 hits while fanning 78 batters only walking six in conference play.
Elms College freshman pitcher Courtney Hampton (Westfield, Mass.) nabbed the 2008 NECC Softball Rookie of the Year for her first season of collegiate play. Hampton, a chemistry major, was second only to Burnett in the NECC with a 1.14 ERA going 7-0 in conference play. For her 43.0 innings tossed, Hampton allowed 15 runs on 38 hits. She struck out 57 batters and walked 16 over her eight appearances.
Hampton was joined by her head coach Cheryl Condon for top conference honors. Condon was named the 2009 NECC Softball Coach of the Year, she has earned five previous conference Coach of the Year honors in the NAC. She led the Blazers to a 17-12 overall record and 14-2 in conference play this season. Elms grabbed the #2 seed in the 2009 NECC Softball Championship.
The Wildcats of Wheelock, led by head coach Kim Lloyd, were honored as the 2009 NECC Team Sportsmanship Award recipients. The Wildcats earned a post-season appearance this season with 7-21 overall record and 7-9 in the NECC nabbing the #6 seed.
Voting for the All-NECC team and each of the major awards was conducted among all NECC Softball coaches.
Joining Krolikowski, Burnett, Hampton on All-NECC First Team were Daniel Webster's freshman (1B) Lauren Chesnulevich; Elms' junior (2B) Ally Graffum (Ipswich, Mass.); Daniel Webster's freshman (3B) Theresa DiSantis (Hinsdale, Mass.); Lesley's senior (SS) Lani Cabral-Pini (Wilmington, Mass.); Mitchell's senior (OF) Lindsey Donelin (Niantic, Conn.); Daniel Webster's sophomore (OF) Amanda Varricchio (Middletown, Conn.); Southern Vermont's freshman (OF) Kayla Whitman (Bennington, Vt.); and Elms' sophomore (DP) Destinee Meeker (Bantam, Conn.).
Second team honors went out to 11 student-athletes including Bay Path's junior (1B) Kristal Cormier (Rochester, N.H.); Daniel Webster's freshman (2B) Amy Waller (Berlin, Mass.); Lesley's senior (3B) Sarah Wilson (Lowell, Mass.); Bay Path's junior (SS) Sarah Gates (Crown Point, Ind.); Lesley's sophomore (OF) Alyson Durben (Stow, Mass.); Becker's junior (OF) Amanda Fogaren (Tewksbury, Mass.); Bay Path's senior Sarah Wright (Canterbury, N.H.); Daniel Webster's freshman (P) Samantha Langlois (Raymond, N.H.); Lesley's freshman (P) Cassandra Knox (Sea Cliff, N.Y.); Lesley's junior (C ) Jodi Fralick (Woburn, Mass.); and Mitchell's senior (DP) Liz Roy (Jewett City, Conn.).
Five players received honorable mention honors including Bay Path's junior (2B)Samantha Gunseth (Swanzey, N.H.); Elms' freshman (3B) Kelly Callahan (Monson, Mass.); Wheelock's sophomore (3B) Nicole Zina (Bristol, R.I.); Elms' senior (SS) Kerrie Bowden (Chicopee, Mass.); and Elms' junior (C ) Kim Lastowski (Turners Falls, Mass.).
2009 NECC SOFTBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Sara
Krolikowski, Mitchell, JR (Bristol, Conn.)
2009 NECC SOFTBALL PITCHER OF THE YEAR: Alicia
Burnett, Lesley, SR (Gulf Breeze, Fla.)
2009 NECC SOFTBALL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Courtney
Hampton, FR (Westfield, Mass.)
2009 NECC SOFTBALL COACH OF THE YEAR: Cheryl
Condon, Elms
2009 NECC SOFTBALL TEAM SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD:
Wheelock College
2009 ALL-NECC SOFTBALL FIRST TEAM
FIRST BASE: Lauren Chesnulevich, Daniel Webster, FR (Hudson,
N.H.)
SECOND BASE: Ally Graffum, Elms, JR (Ipswich, Mass.)
THIRD BASE: Theresa DiSantis, Daniel Webster, FR (Hinsdale,
Mass.)
SHORT STOP: Lani Cabral-Pini, Lesley, SR (Wilmington,
Mass.)
OUTFIELD: Lindsey Donelin, Mitchell, SR (Niantic, Conn.)
OUTFIELD: Amanda Varricchio, Daniel Webster, SO (Middletown,
Conn.)
OUTFIELD: Kayla Whitman, Southern Vermont, FR (Bennington,
Vt.)
PITCHER: Alicia Burnett, Lesley, SR (Gulf Breeze, Fla.)
PITCHER: Courtney Hampton, Elms, FR (Westfield, Mass.)
CATCHER: Sara Krolikowski, Mitchell, JR (Bristol, Conn.)
DESIGNATED PLAYER: Destinee Meeker, Elms, SO (Bantam, Conn.)
2009 ALL-NECC SOFTBALL SECOND TEAM
FIRST BASE: Kristal Cormier, Bay Path, JR (Rochester, N.H.)
SECOND BASE: Amy Waller, Daniel Webster, FR (Berlin, Mass.)
THIRD BASE: Sarah Wilson, Lesley, SR (Lowell, Mass.)
SHORT STOP: Sarah Gates, Bay Path, JR (Crown Point, Ind.)
OUTFIELD: Alyson Durben, Lesley, SO (Stow, Mass.)
OUTFIELD: Amanda Fogaren, Becker, JR (Tewksbury, Mass.)
OUTFIELD: Sarah Wright, Bay Path, SR (Canterbury, N.H.)
PITCHER: Samantha Langlois, Daniel Webster, FR (Raymond, N.H.)
PITCHER: Cassandra Knox, Lesley, FR (Sea Cliff, N.Y.)
CATCHER: Jodi Fralick, Lesley, JR (Woburn, Mass.)
DESIGNATED PLAYER: Liz Roy, Mitchell, SR (Jewett City, Conn.)
2009 ALL-NECC SOFTBALL HONORABLE MENTION
Samantha Gunseth, Bay Path, JR, 2B (Swanzey, N.H.)
Kelly Callahan, Elms, FR, 3B (Monson, Mass.)
Nicole Zina, Wheelock, SO, 3B (Bristol, R.I.)
Kerrie Bowden, Elms, SR, SS (Chicopee, Mass.)
Kim Lastowski, Elms, JR, C (Turners Falls, Mass.)