By: Schumacher earns NEC Player of the Year and Most Improved, Sleith Collects NEC Pitcher and Rookie of the Year, Santillo picks up Golden Glove Award, Robert Morris Staff Named Coaching Staff of the Year

Somerset, NJ -- Monmouth’s Kaitie Schumacher (San Diego, CA/Scripps Ranch) proved exactly why she deserved the conference’s Most Improved Player award after earning both Most Improved and NEC Player of the Year honors on Thursday prior to the start of the NEC Championship. The first basemen earned the pair of major awards after a fantastic sophomore campaign in which she doubled nearly all of the numbers she put up as a freshman, including the league’s best slugging percentage (.687). Also earning a pair of major awards following a tremendous regular season was Robert Morris’ pitcher Nicole Sleith (Smithton, PA/Yough), who adds the exclamation points to her freshman campaign by earning Northeast Conference Pitcher and Rookie of the Year honors. This is the first time since 2000, when when LIU Brooklyn’s Crystal Eubanks took home both honors, that the Pitcher of the Year has also collected Rookie as well.  Sleith’s teammate Samantha Santillo (Ellwood City, PA/Lincoln), a freshman catcher, collected the NEC’s Golden Glove Award, given to the league’s best defensive player. In addition to their three major player awards, Craig Coleman of Robert Morris and his assistants Lauren Dickinson, Annie Dubovec, and Cory Shay earned the NEC Coaching Staff of the Year award after leading the Colonials to the top of the charts in Conference play with a 15-5 record as well as a 34-20 mark overall. This is the second year in a row that Coleman and his staff have earned the honor, and the fourth time in his career he has been named Coach of the Year.

Schumacher earns her Player of the Year and Most Improved Player award after she making great strides from her freshman to sophomore seasons, nearly doubling all of the numbers she put up just a year earlier, including some of the league’s best marks. After hitting .203 (.155 NEC) with five home runs (two NEC) and 18 RBI’s (11 NEC) as a freshman, Schumacher hit .391 (.421 NEC) with nine home runs (five in conference) and 34 RBI’s (16 NEC) in her sophomore season. Her slugging percentage jumped from .347 to .687, which currently leads the league. Nowhere near the NEC leaders as a freshman, Schumacher finished her sophomore regular season first in slugging percentage, second in batting average, third in on-base percentage and fourth in home runs with nine. She went from a productive .291 hitter with three home runs and 13 RBI’s through 21 games before hitting .483 with six home runs and 21 RBI’s in the season’s final 18 games. The surge bumped her final average 100 percentage points to .391. Schumacher was instrumental in the Hawks’ 7-0 finish to claim the final NEC Tournament berth, sparking the winning streak with a two home run, five-RBI day at CCSU and had a pair of walk-off RBI singles against Mount St. Mary’s and LIU Brooklyn in the final weekend of conference games. She earned NEC Player of the Week honors April 30 after an especially solid week at the plate in which she tallied a .478 batting percentage and four home runs on the week.      

Sleith was a dominate work horse in the circle for the Colonials all season, pitching a league best 223.2 innings, while posting the league’s second lowest ERA (1.60). Appearing in over seventy five percent of the Colonial’s games this season, the freshman struck out a league best 227 while tossing another conference best 24 wins. Her 25 completed games is first on the team while her five saves and 45 appearances on the mound are first in the circuit. The Pennsylvania native has been a key part of the Colonial’s rotation, allowing only 60 runs all season, picking up NEC Pitcher of the Week honors three times, all three of which she collected the same week as she earned NEC Rookie of the Week honors. Sleith also earned two more conference Rookie of the Week honors to bring her season total to of weekly honors to eight, the most of any conference player. Along with her two major awards Sleith also earns first team All-Conference honors.

As the other half of the Robert Morris battery, Santillo earned ther first major conference award of her career to cap off her first year in Moon Township as she picks up the Golden Glove award for her defensive work behind the plate. The freshman started in 43 games at catcher and posted a .993 fielding percentage, she also caught 14 stealing, for second best in the league. Santillo committed just one error in conference play for an identical .993 percentage. She tallied 243 put outs on the year and also proved to be a contributor at the plate, especially in conference play, where she booked a .381 percentage as she helped the Colonials to a number one seed in the conference tournament. Additionally she earned second team All-Conference honors as a catcher.

Joining Sleith on the first team as a pitcher is 2011 NEC Pitcher of the Year Heather Schwartzburg (Mission Viejo, CA/Capistrano Valley HS), who posted a league best  1.47 ERA as well as a conference best .164 opposing batting average. The California native struck out 61 batters looking, while posting a squad best 18 wins. This is the second time she has collected first team honors after earning a spot on the first team just a season ago. Schwartzburg also garnered two NEC Pitcher of the Week nods in her senior season to bring her career total to ten.  

Joining Schumacher on the All-Conference team was fellow Hawk, Vanessa Cardoza (Santa Ana, CA/Ocean View), a freshman third basemen who posted 23 RBIs and 37 hits at the plate and 74 assists at the hot corner to rank second on the team. She also tallied two double plays.  

LIU Brooklyn collected two spots on the first team as utility player Nicole Toven (Northridge, CA/Chatsworth) and outfielder Karina Cervantes (Tustin, CA/Mater Dei) each picked up first team honors. Toven was critical during conference play as she batted .357 and slugged at .600. While Cervantes has also been a major threat at the plate, tallying a hit in all but four northeast conference games, sporting a team best- 29 runs on the year. On the wings of a 10-game hitting streak during the month of April, the redshirt freshman Toven tallied 176 at bats on the year, the second highest in the league, while her 55 hits ranked her fourth in the league.

Saint Francis (PA) also picked up two spots on the first team as Taylor Parson (Bellefonte, PA/Bald Eagle)and Paige Smith (Saugus, CA/Valencia)) earned honors for their play at second base and catcher, respectively. Parsons finished fourth in the league in doubles as she tallied 13 on the seasons, while Smith collected NEC Player of the Week honors early in the season after she posted a .462 batting average during the Red Flash’s spring break trip. The senior catcher Smith also led the team with 190 put outs on the season.

Although they are still not eligible to head to the conference tournament, Bryant earned two spots on the All-Conference squad as hard hitting short stop Aubrey Mable (Aurora, CO/Eaglecrest) and outfielder Madeline Velasquez (Los Angeles, CA/Village Christian) were both honored for their play. Mable, a 2011 second team honoree, led the league with a .478 on base percentage and placed fourth in the league in runs scored (35) and batting average (.367). Velasquez was right in front of her fellow first teamer as she held the league’s third best batting average (.385), while she posted a .411 in-conference batting average.

At first base Mount St. Mary’s Liz Christiansen (Etters, PA/Red Land) picked up the first team nod after tallying solid numbers both at the plate and in the field. The senior finished the season bating at a  .320 batting clip, which featured 34 RBIs and nine homeruns, while defensively she boasted a team best 305 put outs, which ranked third in the conference. She finishing her senior year  with a .985 fielding percentage.

Rounding out the first team was Central Connecticut outfielder Rebecca Mussatti (Valley Center, CA/Palomar) who led the league in stolen bases with 14 on 15 attempts, while also pacing the conference in triples (6). The senior was solid against NEC pitching as she booked a .417 in average which included 31 runs and 22 RBIs during league competition.

Robert Morris adds one more to their list of All-Conference honorees as senior outfielder Jaci Timko (Houston, PA/Chartiers Houston) collects league honors for the second time in her career. The Pennsylvania native was solid at the plate for the Colonials as she posted a.344 hitting percentage which ranked her third on the team. She also blasted seven home runs and 22 RBIs. Her seven homers were good for first on the team, while her 20 in-conference runs scored ranks first in the league.

Second team honorees  Alex Alba (Sylmar, CA/Sylmar) and Mina Duffy (Piedmont, CA/Piedmont) of Quinnipiac will look to continue their All-Conference worthy play at short stop and in the outfield, respectively, during  Conference tournament. The duo attracted national attention earlier in the season after they were both part of the Bobcat’s NCAA record breaking back-to-back-to-back-to-back home run performance. Duffy was also honored by the conference for her role, receiving NEC Player of the Week honors for her record breaking effort. Alba posted to a team best numbers in her .343 batting average and 93 assists, while her .607 slugging percentage was fifth in the league. In the outfield Duffy came up with a perfect fielding percentage in both conference and non-conference action. Together, the pair tied for first on the team in RBIs, both notching 28 during the regular season.

Wagner earned two second team honorees in the duo of second basemen Brittany Huss (Anthem, AZ/Boulder Creek)  and third basemen Kristen Matteoni (Reno, NV/Galena). Huss posted a .368 in-conference batting average, and a team best .340 overall average, while Matteoni was solid at third putting up 105 assists defensively. The Nevada native also made a statement at the plate as she tallied seven home runs to rank first on the team.  

2011 NEC Most Improved Player Nicole Sidor (West Vancouver, BC/Sentinel Secondary) of Sacred Heart earned a spot on the second team as a utility player after appeared in 32 games on the mound,  while posting a .495 slugging percentage at the plate. Sidor also collected two NEC Pitcher of the Week nods early in the season after she recorded a 0.79 ERA in over 18 innings pitched. Her 181 strikeouts ranked her fourth in the league while her 11 home runs was first. In addition to Sidor, Sacred Heart’s Jade Bowins (Frederick, MD/Gov. Thomas Johnson),  collects one of three outfielder slots on the second team after she posted a squad best batting average of .302

En-route to earning second team honors Mount’s Nicole Pagano (Berlin, NJ/St. Joseph’s) earned NEC Pitcher of the Week honors early in the season  after she posted an 0.37 ERA over 19 innings pitched. The junior boasted a 1.77 ERA which ranked third in the league,  as she tossed  147 strikes . For the season, the hurler garnered a pair of Pitcher of the Week awards. Central Connecticut’s Laura Messina (Marlton, NJ/Camden Catholic) earned the second pitcher spot on the second team after she posted a 22-11 record which featured 207 strikeouts, good for second in the league. Messina, a freshman, picked up Rookie of the Week twice as well as Pitcher of the Week honors two times over the spring.  Fellow Blue Devil Nicole Springer (New Britain, CT/Hartford) takes home second team honors at first base following a season which featured 45 RBI and an in-conference batting average of .377 and .672 slugging percentage for fourth and fifth on the circuit, respectively.

Completing the 12-man Second Team All-Conference roster is Saint Francis (PA) designated player Taylor Darnellie (Fircrest, WA/Wilson), who booked a .362 batting average, 97 put outs and a solid .972 fielding percentage.