Lesley NCAA Tournament media notes (PDF)
Knox, Mercurio, Fountain earn NECC weekly awards
Mercurio on NCAA.com's "Conference Championship Central"
WILLIMANTIC, CT -- Lesley prepares to take on the top seed and host of the Willimantic, CT region in No. 2 nationally ranked Eastern Connecticut State Warriors in the first game of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday at 11:00 a.m.
Coming off the team's fourth straight New England Collegiate Conference Championship, Lesley has won 14 straight and boasts the nation's top offense with an even .400 batting average. NECC Player of the Year and co-captain Jenna Fralick hit .549 in league play to lead all players, while Fralick tied with sophomore Nicole Mercurio for team-high honors with a .440 overall batting average on the season.
The NECC Tournament MVP, Mercurio homered and drove in three runs in all three of Lesley's NECC tournament vicroties. The reigning back-to-back NECC Player of the Week, Mercurio has hit five home runs and driven in 14 in her last seven games and has six home runs with 19 RBI's over her last nine.
NECC Player-of-the-Year
Jenna Fralick
NECC Pitcher-of-the-Year
Jennifer Dorval
All-NECC First Team
Gabrielle Brixey
Jennifer Dorval
Jenna Fralick
Jessica Guevara,
Emily Mangiaratti
All-NECC Second Team
Allison Fountain, Lesley
NECC All-Tournament Team
Jenna Fralick
Cassandra Knox
NECC Tournament Most Valuable Player
Nicole Mercurio (So., UT - Wakefield, MA)
The nation's hottest team as winners of 39 straight, Eastern Connecticut State pitcher Molly Rathburn leads the nation with 29 wins (29-1) and 14 shutouts. In 176 inning pitched, Rathburn has totaled 286 strikeouts for the 40-1 Warriors.
In the Lynx second game to be played on Friday, Lesley has the possibility of facing the team's first opponent of 2012, Ithaca College. The Lynx lost a tough 8-7 decision to the Bombers on March 12 at the Dot Richardson National Training Center in Clermont, FL. Mercurio went 3-for-3 with two doubles and four RBI's in the loss. Gabrielle Brixey and Allison Fountain each went 1-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored as Ithaca's five-run fourth lifted the Bombers to victory.
In its NCAA opener, Ithaca faces Lesley's first 2011 NCAA Tournament opponent, Coast Guard. Should the Lynx upset top-seeded Eastern Connecticut, Lesley will play the winner of Ithaca-Coast Guard on Friday at 4:00 p.m. Should Lesley lose, the Lynx will play the loser on Friday at 11:00 a.m.
The entire Willimantic, CT bracket is below:
1. Eastern Conn St (40-1) vs.
8. Lesley (28-10)
5. Coast Guard (26-17) vs.
4. Ithaca (30-12)
3. Rochester NY (28-13) vs.
6. St. John Fisher (33-12)
7. Salem St. (32-12) vs.
2. Tufts (36-5)
Thursday, May 10, 2012
GAME 1 #1 vs. #8 11:00 AM
GAME 2 #4 vs. #5 1:30 PM
GAME 3 #3 vs. #6 4:00 PM
GAME 4 #2 vs. #7 6:30 PM
Friday, May 11, 2012
GAME 5 Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 11:00 AM
GAME 6 Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4 1:30 PM
GAME 7 Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 4:00 PM
GAME 8 Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4 6:30 PM
Saturday, May 12, 2012
GAME 9 Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 7 11:00 AM
GAME 10 Winner Game 5 vs. Loser Game 8 1:30 PM
GAME 11 Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8 4:00 PM
GAME 12 Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10 6:30 PM
Sunday, May 13, 2012
GAME 13 Winner Game 12 vs. Loser Game 11 12:00 PM
GAME 14 Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 13 2:30 PM
