Athletic News Detail

Grande receives NEAC second team all-conference honors

Posted on May 07, 2012

GANSEVOORT, N.Y. – The North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) has announced its 2012 Softball North and South Division All-Conference Team selections, with first and second team honors being awarded to the top 20 players for each division as selected by the conference coaches, regardless of position.

The NEAC has also announced its individual award winners for each division.  In the North, Keuka College senior Elly Disbrow (Penn Yan, N.Y.) and SUNY Institute of Technology junior Lyndsey Brognano (Rome, N.Y.) were both selected as the Player of the Year after each put together outstanding seasons for their respective squads.  Disbrow batted .422 (38-for-90) through 28 games this season and led the Storm in hits (38), runs scored (29) and stolen bases (15), while being third in on base percentage (.447).  She also posted 12 multi-hit games and tallied six doubles, a triple and 16 RBIs while at the plate, while also being strong in the outfield, tallying a .964 fielding percentage with 26 putouts, an assist and just one error.

Brognano was also tremendous at the plate, as she leads the conference in doubles (18) and total bases (77) while being second in slugging percentage (.694), third in both home runs (5) and runs scored (41), and fifth in both hits (44) and RBIs (31). Her 12 doubles and .864 slugging percentage during conference play were also league bests.  Brognano made multiple plays from the shortstop position as well, recording 73 putouts and 46 assists en route to a .944 fielding percentage.  

Keuka College swept the rest of the individual awards in the North, as Danielle Gravel (Sidney, N.Y.) was chosen as the Pitcher of the Year, Jessica Bandrowski (Center Moriches, N.Y.) was named the conference’s inaugural Rookie of the Year and Jamie Burke was selected as the Coach of the Year.

Gravel, a sophomore, compiled a 14-3 record with a 2.00 ERA and 16 complete games while on the mound for the Storm this season, which included a 1.42 ERA and three shutouts against NEAC competition that helped her capture one NEAC Pitching Student-Athlete of the Week award on the year.  Gravel allowed two runs or fewer in 11 of her starts and struck out 46 batters while walking 20 in 112 innings pitched.  Gravel also had a strong season at the plate, batting .296 (16-for-54) while driving in 12 runs and scoring 10 more.

Bandrowski, a sophomore and first-year softball player for the Storm, started 22 games for Keuka and was among the top-four statistical team leaders in batting average (.365), runs scored (22), RBIs (17), doubles (5), triples (3), total bases (41), stolen bases (5), on-base percentage (.420) and slugging percentage (.554).  Bandrowski elevated her play against NEAC competition as well, batting .449 (22-for-49) and driving in 12 runs during conference play.

Burke was selected by her peers as the Coach of the Year for the second straight season after leading the Storm to their second consecutive North Division regular season championship with an 18-2 NEAC record.  Burke’s defending NEAC Champion squad went 19-9 overall on the year and currently leads the nation in triples per game (0.89).

The North Division All-Conference selections are as follows:

 

In the South Division, Wilson College junior Tara Fields (Berryville, Va.) was honored as the Player of the Year after a dominant season at the plate for the Phoenix.  Fields was a top-ten conference leader in every major statistical hitting category, batting a conference-best .452 and driving in a league-high 42 runs while also posting 42 hits, 37 runs scored, nine doubles, three triples, three sacrifice flies, 57 total bases, a .481 on base percentage and a .613 slugging percentage.  She is also currently second in the nation in runs batted in per game at 1.56, which is just .02 away from the top spot, while being fifth nationally in runs scored per game at 1.37.

Wilson College senior Leigh Roche (Hanover, Pa.) was selected as the Pitcher of the Year after a sizzling performance on the mound for the Phoenix.  A two-time NEAC Pitching Student-Athlete of the Week selection, Roche went 13-1 on the year with a conference-high124 strikeouts and a division-best 1.55 ERA.  The flamethrower averaged a league-best 10.09 strikeouts per game and tossed a conference-high five shutouts this season, allowing just 58 hits and 19 earned runs (36 total) in 86 innings of work while pitching 12 complete games.

The inaugural South Division Rookie of the Year honor went to Gallaudet University’s Easter Faafiti (Pittsburg, Calif.).  Faafiti, a senior and two-time All-American basketball player whose in her first softball season with the Bison, started in all 36 Gallaudet contests and posted three home runs and 17 RBIs on 25 hits.  She was second in the conference in walks drawn with 21 and was fifth overall in stolen bases with 17, while also scoring 27 runs.  Faafiti registered 38 putouts and one assist while fielding the outfield as well.

Wilson College’s Brett Cline was awarded the Coach of the Year honor after guiding the Phoenix to a near-flawless regular season.  Cline led the Phoenix to their second straight South Division regular season championship with a perfect 20-0 NEAC record, while leading them to a 25-2 record overall.  Cline’s squad, which is currently riding a 22-game winning streak, is the top scoring team in the nation at 10.78 runs per game.

South Division All-Conference First Team
Tara Fields	Wilson College	Jr.	OF/C	Berryville, Va.
Nicole Musser	Wilson College	Jr.	P/OF	Middletown, Va.
Kara Boyd	Penn State Harrisburg	Jr.	P/UTIL	Alexandria, PA
Gabrielle Wolf	Penn State Harrisburg	Fr.	P/UTIL	New Milford, Pa.
Marissa Ruggerio	Penn State Berks	Jr.	RF	Easton, Pa.
Leigh Roche	Wilson College	Sr.	P/INF	Hanover, Pa.
Melissa Kulp	Penn State Abington	Fr.	SS/2B	King of Prussia, Pa.
Alicia Johnson	Gallaudet University	Jr.	OF	San Jose, Calif.
Maggie Sipps	Wilson College	Sr.	INF	Philadelphia, Pa.
Emily Pae	Penn State Harrisburg	Sr.	C/OF	Harrisburg, Pa.
South Division All-Conference Second Team
Devon Denker	Penn State Berks	Jr.	2B	Easton, Pa.
Noelle Grande	College of Saint Elizabeth	Jr.	CF	Parsippany, N.J.
Rachel Sweigart	Gallaudet University	So.	OF/P	Big Rock, Ill.
Trish Watson	Penn State Abington	Jr.	3B/OF	Bensalem, Pa.
Megan Schneck	Wilson College	So.	INF	Bethel, Pa.
Sam Kidd	Penn State Abington	So.	2B/SS	Philadelphia, Pa.
Kaylie Vrabel	Penn State Berks	Fr.	LF	Fleetwood, Pa.
Mariellen Medernach	Penn State Abington	Sr.	3B/C/1B	Philadelphia, Pa.
Easter Faafiti	Gallaudet University	Sr.	OF	Pittsburg, Calif.
Faith Ricker	Wilson College	Fr.	INF/OF	Hagerstown, Md.

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The North Eastern Athletic Conference has thirteen NCAA Division III member institutions which include: Cazenovia College, College of St. Elizabeth, Gallaudet University, Keuka College, Lancaster Bible College, Pennsylvania State University - Abington, Pennsylvania State University - Berks, Pennsylvania State University -Harrisburg, SUNY Cobleskill, SUNY Institute of Technology, SUNY Morrisville State College, Wells College, and Wilson College.  Associate members are: Hilbert College (M Lacrosse), Medaille College (M&W Lacrosse) and Rutgers University - Camden (M Golf).  The North Eastern Athletic Conference has partnered with the North Atlantic Conference in the sports of baseball, women’s lacrosse, and men’s and women’s tennis.