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05/06/2004
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| LIU's Krystal Mejia (left) & Jessica Busick | |
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Somerset, NJ -- After winning at least a share of its fifth straight NEC regular season championship, Long Island University swept the postseason Northeast Conference softball awards, which were announced, along with all-NEC first and second-teams, at the NEC Tournament banquet Thursday evening. Sophomore shortstop Krystal Mejia (Sylmar, CA / University of New Mexico) was selected as NEC Player of the Year, sophomore hurler Jessica Busick (Milpitas, CA / West Valley CC) was named NEC Pitcher of the Year, freshman Jessie DePippo (Westlake Village, CA / Agoura) took home NEC Rookie of the Year, and for the fifth consecutive season, Roy Kortmann was chosen NEC Coach of the Year.
Mejia becomes the first LIU player since Stephanie White in 1997 to take home the NEC Player of the Year award. The University of New Mexico transfer batted .325 overall and .447 in conference action for the first place Blackbirds. A solid shortstop, the Sylmar, CA product committed only two errors in 86 chances (.977) to anchor the LIU defense. The sophomore holds a .406 on-base percentage, ranking her sixth in the league, including a second-best .519 mark in NEC games.
Busick was selected NEC Pitcher of the Year after posting an 8-0 mark and 1.92 ERA in league action. She allowed 14 earned runs in 51.0 innings against NEC foes with 30 strikeouts, while holding conference opponents to only a .226 average. Overall, the junior is 11-11 with a 2.83 ERA. Busick is the third Long Island hurler is as many years to take home pitcher of the year honors. Teammate and second team member Jackie Brown (Westminster, CA / Fountain Valley) captured last year’s pitcher award after Crystal Eubanks did the same in 2002.
DePippo was selected NEC Rookie of the Year after batting .356, which ranks second in the NEC, with 19 runs, 47 hits, 10 doubles, one home run, 22 RBI and a .455 slugging percentage. The super freshman, who also was named to the league’s all-NEC second-team as a designated player, was consistent the entire season, batting .357 with 15 RBI and striking out only twice in 56 at-bats in NEC action. Her conference RBI total ranks her third in the category.
Kortmann picks up his seventh coach of the year award in nine seasons after guiding the Blackbirds to a 23-25 overall record and 16-2 conference mark. Under the 10-year mentor, LIU softball has recorded three 30-plus win seasons, three NEC Tournament Championships and two appearances at NCAA Regionals. Kortmann enters the NEC Tournament with 273 career victories.
Four LIU Blackbirds earned first team accolades including Mejia, Busick, junior first baseman Briana Mathiesen (Sylmar, CA / John F. Kennedy) and senior outfielder Sayde Marzolf (Sumner, WA / Sumner). Mathiesen, who was a second team honoree in 2002 as a freshman, hit .377 in conference play and collected three home runs and 20 RBI. Defensively, the junior committed only four errors in 392 chances (.990). Marzolf, who was the 2001 NEC Rookie of the Year and second-team all-NEC as a freshman, currently leads the NEC in batting average (.363) and hits (53). Marzolf hit .414 in the league and swiped 15 bases during the 2004 campaign.
Wagner catcher Jessica Van Manen (Staten Island, NY / Curtis) was a machine at the plate for the Seahawks this season. The lone 2003 NEC first teamer to repeat this year hit .349, fourth best in the NEC, with 44 hits, 11 doubles, 24 runs, three home runs and 26 RBI. In NEC play, the Wagner backstop led the league in batting average (.458), slugging percentage (.763), on-base percentage (.522), doubles (9), total bases (45) and runs scored (17), was second in hits (27) and tied for fourth in RBI (14). The senior was also successful in eight of nine stolen base attempts.
Van Manen is joined by Wagner teammates, senior outfielder Marie Bianca (Staten Island, NY / Poly Prep), junior designated player Kim Bruckner (Carle Place, NY / Carle Place) and freshman pitcher Morgan Miller (Henderson, NV / Silverado) on the all-conference first team. Bianca, who earned second-team all-NEC honors as a freshman, ranks fifth in the conference in batting at .345, including a fourth-best .426 average in league tilts. Impressively, the senior has struck out only nine times in 113 at-bats this season. Bruckner elevates herself to all-NEC first team status after a second team nod in 2002. The junior is hitting .326 (.390 in NEC) with five home runs and 25 RBI. Miller, along with Monmouth’s Heather Gordon (Hatboro, PA / Mount St. Joseph’s), is one of only two freshmen to make this year’s all-NEC first team list. The Wagner ace has won eight games for the Seahawks and leads the league with a 2.12 ERA and was second in NEC games at 1.22. She has struck out 63 batters in 135 1/3 innings and has held the opposition to a .245 batting average.
Gordon was dually impressive this season for the tournament-bound Monmouth Hawks, earning first-team honors as a utility player. The rookie is batting .355 with a league-leading eight home runs, 16 runs scored, four doubles, two triples and 24 RBI. Gordon’s slugging percentage is approaching an NEC-high .700 (more than 100 percentage points above the closest competitor) while her on-base percentage is at .430. On the mound, the Hatboro, PA product was 5-5 with a 3.34 ERA, while winning two games in the NEC with a 2.56 earned-run-average.
Rounding out the all-NEC first team are two Robert Morris sophomore infielders, second baseman Keri Meyer (Carnegie, PA / Canevin College) and third baseman Kali Byers (Alum Bank, PA / Chestnut Ridge), and Central Connecticut State sophomore outfielder Kristin Kropp (Franklin, CT / Norwich Free Academy). Meyer finished the season with a .291 batting average, including .339 in conference. Byers, an all-NEC second team member last season and the 2003 NEC Rookie of the Year, hit .321 in 2004 with seven home runs, leads the league with 32 RBI and is tied for the high with 65 total bases. Byers also leads the league in on-base percentage (.470) and is second in slugging percentage (.556). Kropp hit .326 overall and .439 in the NEC, while collecting nine stolen bases. The sophomore also leads the league in NEC hits (29) and is tied with Wagner’s Van Manen for runs scored (17).
Long Island placed an NEC-high four players on the all-NEC second team, including 2003 NEC Pitcher of the Year Brown, DePippo, third baseman Margie Foster (Carson ity, NV / Carson) and catcher Alicia Ciccarello (Islip, NY / Islip). Brown had another strong season for the Blackbirds, recording a 9-6 record and a 2.40 ERA. The junior was also 5-1 in NEC action. Seniors Ciccarello and Foster both earn postseason honors for the first time. Ciccarello hit .452 in the NEC with three home runs and 12 RBI, while Foster batted .321 in the conference with 12 runs scored.
Quinnipiac’s three second-team members include perennial all-star shortstop Sarah Collins (Westford, MA / Bedford), sophomore outfielder Alyssa Mansolf (Durham, CA / Coginchaug) and sophomore pitcher Kim Norman (Somersworth, NH / Somersworth). Collins was selected as a second team outfielder in 2002 and first team last season. In 2004, the junior is hitting .302 with four home runs and is tied for second in the NEC with 26 RBI. In the league, she batted .373 with two home runs and 14 RBI and boasts a .647 slugging percentage. Mansolf finished with a .373 batting average and a .479 on-base percentage in conference. On the mound, Norman was 8-1 in the NEC for the second place Bobcats, posting a 1.80 ERA. She allowed 17 NEC runs in 66.0 innings, striking out 52 batters. Overall, the sophomore was 9-5 with a 2.62 ERA and 85 strikeouts.
After making the all-NEC second team in 2002, Cassie Scofield (Stewartstown, PA / Kennard-Dale) of St. Francis (PA) makes her way back on the all-conference squad as an outfielder. Scofield batted .290 with 18 runs scored and ranked third in the NEC with 16 stolen bases. Scofield’s teammate Sarah Rebar (Ramey, PA / Moshannon Valley) is also named to the second-team, leading the Red Flash in batting at .322 overall and .344 in NEC games.
Fairleigh Dickinson junior Courtney Rejent (Paramus, NJ / Paramus) is an all-NEC second team first baseman for the first time posting a .303 batting average with four home runs and 21 RBI. She was outstanding in league play, hitting .322 and registering a .576 slugging percentage. The junior committed only five errors in 331 chances for a .985 fielding percentage.
Mount St. Mary’s outfielder Sarah Ramsburg (Union Bridge, MD / Walkersville) and Sacred Heart utility player Leslie Konsig (Millburn, NJ / Millburn) round out the all-NEC second team. Both are first time honorees. Ramsburg tied for the NEC lead with 17 stolen bases (19 attempts) on the season to go along with a .310 batting average and 20 runs scored. Konsig paced the Pioneers in batting average (.294), runs scored (18) and hits (42). An exceptional soccer player as well, Konsig was named first-team all-NEC goalkeeper the last three seasons.
The double-elimination 2004 Northeast Conference Softball Tournament will get underway on Friday, May 7 with the opening round game pitting defending champion and #1 seed Long Island against #4 seed Wagner at 11:00 am, followed by #2 seed Quinnipiac versus #3 Monmouth at 1:00 pm. The championship game is slated for 1:00 pm (and if necessary a 3:00 pm game to follow) on Saturday, May 8. All games will be played on the campus of Long Island University at Brooklyn, NY. For game recaps and boxscores, log onto the NEC official website at www.northeastconference.org.
2004 NEC Softball Award Winners
Player of the Year
Krystal Mejia Long Island SS So. Sylmar, CA / University of New Mexico
Pitcher of the Year
Jessica Busick Long Island P Jr. Milpitas, CA / West Valley CC
Rookie Player of the Year
Jessie DePippo Long Island C/DP Fr Westlake Village, CA / Agoura
Coach of the Year
Roy Kortman Long Island
2004 NEC Softball First Team All-Conference
Name School Pos Yr Hometown/Previous School
Briana Mathiesen Long Island 1B Jr. Sylmar, CA / John F. Kennedy
Keri Meyer Robert Morris 2B So. Carnegie, PA / Canevin College
Kali Byers Robert Morris 3B So. Alum Bank, PA / Chestnut Ridge
Krystal Mejia Long Island SS So. Sylmar, CA / University of New Mexico
Sayde Marzolf Long Island OF Sr. Sumner, WA / Sumner
Kristin Kropp Central Conn. St. OF So. Franklin, CT / Norwich Free Academy
Marie Bianca Wagner OF Sr. Staten Island, NY / Poly Prep
Jessica Van Manen Wagner C Sr. Staten Island, NY / Curtis
Kim Bruckner Wagner DP Jr. Carle Place, NY / Carle Place
Heather Gordon Monmouth UT Fr. Hatboro, PA / Mount St. Josph’s
Jessica Busick Long Island P Jr. Milpitas, CA / West Valley CC
Morgan Miller Wagner P Fr. Henderson, NV / Silverado
2004 NEC Softball Second Team All-Conference
Name School Pos Yr Hometown/Previous School
Courtney Rejent Fairleigh Dickinson 1B Jr. Paramus, NJ / Paramus
Sarah Rebar St. Francis (PA) 2B Sr. Ramey, PA / Moshannon Valley
Margie Foster Long Island 3B Sr. Carson City, NV / Carson
Sarah Collins Quinnipiac SS Jr. Westford, MA / Bedford
Sarah Ramsburg Mount St. Mary’s OF So. Union Bridge, MD / Walkersville
Alyssa Mansolf Quinnipiac OF So. Durham, CT / Coginchaug
Cassie Scofield St. Francis (PA) OF Jr. Stewartstown, PA / Kennard-Dale
Alicia Ciccarello Long Island C Sr. Islip, NY / Islip
Jessie DePippo Long Island DP Fr Westlake Village, CA / Agoura
Leslie Konsig Sacred Heart UT Sr. Millburn, NJ / Millburn
Kim Norman Quinnipiac P So. Somersworth, NH / Somersworth
Jackie Brown Long Island P Jr. Westminster, CA / Fountain Valley
