Conference

Somerset, NJ -- UMBC senior shortstop Deanna Vecchio (Matawan, NJ/Old Bridge) capped off an outstanding four year career in Baltimore with her selection as 2002 Northeast Conference Softball Player of the Year. Freshman teammate Kristie Pickeral (Hughesville, MD/Thomas Stone), Vecchio’s next door neighbor at third base, garnered Rookie of the Year honors. Long Island junior pitcher Crystal Eubanks (LaPalma, CA/John F. Kennedy) took home NEC Pitcher of the Year accolades for the second time, while Blackbirds head coach Roy Kortmann was voted Coach of the Year by his peers for the third straight season. The honorees were announced, along with the NEC First and Second All-Conference teams, at the NEC Tournament banquet this evening. The 2002 NEC Softball Tournament will take place on the campus of Monmouth University in West Long Branch, NJ on Friday, May 3rd and Saturday, May 4th.

After being named to the all-conference first team every year since her freshman season, Vecchio caps off her astonishing collegiate career by being voted NEC Player of the Year in 2002. The four-time all-NEC performer leads the league in batting average (.428), runs (62), hits (80), total bases (122) and stolen bases (28-31), is tied for second in triples (5) and is tied for fourth in doubles (14). The Matawan, NJ native ranks nationally in batting average (21st) and stolen bases per game (27th-tie) and will be the Retrievers key component as they enter the NEC Tournament as the #2 seed.

Eubanks earns her second NEC Pitcher of the Year award in the last three years, after taking home the honor during her freshman campaign. A member of the all-NEC second team last year and Rookie of the Year in 2000, she returned to dominate the NEC yet again this season with an unblemished 15-0 conference record and 0.79 earned run average. In 33 appearances this season, Eubanks stands at 20-11 with a 2.29 ERA, 26 games started, 23 complete games, four shutouts, two saves and 97 strikeouts. The junior from LaPalma, CA has ammassed a career mark of 49-26 overall and a terrific 34-3 record in league play.

Pickeral garners Rookie of the Year honors after batting .356 in 54 games thus far for UMBC this season. She has collected 64 hits, including nine doubles and six home runs, while slugging .503. She leads the team in runs batted in with 44 and is tied for the team lead in home runs with Vecchio. Defensively, the rookie third baseman has a .923 fielding percentage, committing only thirteen errors in her corner position all season.

Long Island head coach Roy Kortmann picks up his third consecutive NEC Coach of the Year award, earning the honor for the fifth time in the last seven years. He has guided the Blackbirds to their third straight NEC regular season title and top seed in this weekend’s NEC Tournament. Kortmann led LIU to a conference mark of 21-1, setting a new league record for wins and winning percentage (.955) in the process. Under his tutelage, LIU currently ranks fifth in the NCAA East Region Poll, behind only Big East powers Notre Dame, Villanova, Syracuse and Seton Hall. With an overall record of 28-22, Kortmann needs just two more wins to secure his third straight season of 30 or more victories.

Joining Vecchio and Eubanks on the all-conference first team are six other past all-NEC performers and four newly annointed all-stars. Long Island leads the squad with four players, followed by UMBC with three, Robert Morris with two and Monmouth, St. Francis (NY) and St. Francis (PA) with one each.

Robert Morris senior pitcher Lauren Dickinson (Clifton, NJ/St. Mary’s) earns her fourth all-conference honor, after being named second team her freshman campaign and first team each year thereafter. The 2001 NEC Player and Pitcher of the Year continued to have success on the field this season, leading the league in wins (21-11), earned run average (1.71), innings pitched (213.1), appearances (35) and strikeouts (212). In league action, she has held opponents to a .191 batting average and posted a record of 13-3 with a 1.16 ERA and 106 K’s. The Clifton, NJ native holds several Colonial career records on the mound, including appearances (125), innings pitched (787.0), complete games (114), strikeouts (820), and boasts a few more at the plate, including batting average (.339), hits (185), doubles (41) and home runs (17). Her batterymate, junior catcher Vicki Goodnow (Levittown, PA/Harry S. Truman), makes her first appearance on the all-conference squad after batting .331 overall and .429 in NEC action. She has collected 12 doubles and three home runs this season, while knocking in 24 runs. Behind the plate, she has only committed three errors, owns a fielding percentage of .988 and has thrown out seven would be base stealers. Entering the NEC Tournament as the #3 seed, the Colonials will rely heavily upon this tandem.

Along with Eubanks, the Blackbirds are represented on the all-NEC first team by returning all-conference performers, sophomore second baseman Sonia Zapata (Canyon Country, CA/Canyon), senior outfielder Tiffany Cooley (Sayville, NY/Sayville) and junior outfielder Rosette Rough (Carson City, NV/Carson). Zapata and Rough were both named to the first team last year, while Cooley is a two-time honoree previously named at first base. Zapata is batting .452 with 33 hits, eight doubles, seven home runs, 27 runs batted in, an .877 slugging percentage and a .481 on-base percentage in league action, while hitting .316 (48-152) overall. Rough is also hitting over .400 in conference play, with a .431 mark, including 10 doubles, two triples and 19 RBI. The speedster leads the team in runs scored (36) and stolen bases (20-21) and is batting .327 overall. Cooley rounds out the LIU contingent after switching to the outfield this season and continuing to be a major factor for the Blackbirds success. She leads the team with a .329 batting average, is tied for the team lead in runs batted in (32) and ranks second in hits (50), doubles (12) and stolen bases (15).

Vecchio is joined by Retriever teammates, junior outfielder Lisa Boone (Owings, MD/Northern) and freshman utility player Christine French (Waterloo, NY/Waterloo) on the all-NEC first team. Boone, a three-time honoree after garnering second team honors in 2000 and first team accolades last season, tops the league in doubles (17) and triples (8), ranks second in hitting (.408), hits (77), runs scored (45) and total bases (113) and is third in runs batted in (36) and stolen bases (16-16). In NEC action, she is batting at a whopping .481 clip and has a .714 slugging percentage and .517 on-base percentage. A rookie utility player, French is hitting .370 (17-46) with two doubles, a triple and 12 runs scored in league play and has an overall batting average of .329.

St. Francis (PA) senior first baseman Brooke Keiper (Johnstown, PA/Greater Johnstown) makes the jump to the all-NEC first team after being selected to the second team the past two years. Keiper ranks fourth in the conference in batting average (.387) and leads the Red Flash in slugging percentage (.518), on-base percentage (.408) and fielding percentage (.989). She has collected 43 hits, 20 runs scored and 22 RBI this season. Keiper’s play was a big part of SFPA’s clinching the final spot and #4 seed in this weekend’s NEC Tournament, returning the Red Flash to the postseason for the first time since 1998.

Rounding out the first team selections are junior third baseman Elissa Connell (Howell, NJ/Howell) of Monmouth and junior designated player Alex Richardson (Jamaica, NY/St. Francis Prep) of St. Francis (NY). Connell ranked eighth in the NEC in hitting with a .353 batting average and second in triples with five. She led the Hawks in runs batted in (24), doubles (8), triples (5) and slugging percentage (.529), and ranked second in runs scored (28) and hits (42). Richardson becomes the first-ever Terrier softball player to earn all-conference recognition after leading the league with nine home runs and ranking third with a .390 batting average. She paced SFNY in nearly every offensive category including batting average, hits (39), doubles (8), triples (3), home runs (9), runs scored (22), runs batted in (30), total bases (80), slugging percentage (.800) and on-base percentage (.492).

The Northeast Conference Second Team is comprised of three returning second team performers and nine new all-NEC selections, including a sister tandem. Senior pitcher Linsi Moy (Kirkland, WA/Inglemoor) of UMBC is back for her second go-around on the squad after posting a 14-5 overall record, 4 shutouts and a 2.10 ERA. She went undefeated in conference action with a perfect 7-0 mark and 0.96 ERA. The 2002 Rookie of the Year, Pickeral, also represents the Retrievers on the all-NEC second team.

St. Francis (PA) has three players honored as second teamers, including senior catcher Jamie Krusinsky (Shenandoah, PA/Shenandoah) and the sister combination of junior pitcher Stacy Scofield (Stewartstown, PA/Kennard-Dale) and freshman outfielder Cassie Scofield (Stewartstown, PA/Kennard-Dale). Krusinsky is making her third appearance on the second team squad after batting .289 with 39 hits, seven home runs, 23 runs scored and 29 RBI. She committed only two errors behind the plate for a .992 fielding percentage and gunned down 11-of-29 would-be base-stealers. Stacy Scofield went 14-8 overall with five shutouts and a 2.02 ERA, and heading into tournament action ranks second in the league with 135 strikeouts. She posted a 9-2 record and 1.80 earned run average in league play. A rookie outfielder, Cassie Scofield is among the league leaders in batting average (.355) and triples (4), and tops the Red Flash in hits (55) and total bases (69).

Junior second baseman Val Petillo (Plainville, CT/Plainville) of Mount St. Mary’s is the remaining returning honoree, following her all-NEC second team selection in 2000. Petillo batted .265 with 30 hits, 14 runs scored, six runs batted in and nine sacrifice hits, while fielding her position with a .959 percentage. Junior outfielder Jessica Harvey (Mystic, CT/Fitch Sr.) of Central Connecticut State and sophomore outfielder Carolina Kovach (Tinton Falls, NJ/Monmouth Regional) of Fairleigh Dickinson both represent their teams as first-ever all-NEC selections for their respective institutions. Harvey batted .287 with 29 hits, seven doubles, 12 RBI and 11 runs overall and improved to a .351 clip in league action. In only the second season since the Knights reinstated softball, Kovach earns second team recognition. She led her squad in batting average (.326), doubles (5), home runs (4) and slugging percentage (.547), and ranked second in hits (28) and RBI (14).

Freshmen Briana Mathiesen (Sylmar, CA/John F. Kennedy) of Long Island, Sarah Collins (Bedford, MA/Bedford) of Quinnipiac, Kim Bruckner (Glen Cove, NY/Carle Place) of Wagner and Kristin Wilson (Belleville, NJ/Belleville) of Monmouth round out the all-conference second team contingent. Mathiesen, a first baseman, came on strong in league play for the Blackbirds, hitting .338 with six doubles, three home runs, 17 runs batted in and 18 runs scored against NEC opponents. Collins, a shortstop, closed out the season hitting .284 overall (.317 in NEC play) with 31 hits, four home runs, 30 RBI and 16 runs scored. Bruckner, the Seahawks’ designated player, batted .353 in league play and .319 overall with five doubles and 10 runs scored. Wilson closed out her rookie campaign as a key utility player for the Hawks, batting .364 with 51 hits, six doubles and 30 runs scored, while stealing 13-of-16 bases.

The Northeast Conference Softball Tournament gets underway on Friday, May 3rd with the opening round game pitting defending champion and #1 seed Long Island versus #4 seed St. Francis (PA) at 10:00 am, followed by #2 UMBC against #3 Robert Morris at 12:00 noon. The championship game is slated for 1:00 pm (and if necessary a 3:00 pm game to follow) on Saturday, May 4th.