2005 NESCAC Softball All-Conference Teams Announced
Tufts’ Courtney
Bongiolatti Honored as 2005 Player of the Year
HADLEY, Mass. – Tufts senior
shortstop Courtney Bongiolatti was recognized as the NESCAC Player
of the Year in a vote by the conference coaches. Bongiolatti, a
three-time first team selection, led the conference in home runs
(14), runs batted in (45) and total bases (93) while ranking among
the league’s top five in hits (40), runs scored (26) and
batting average (.374). Bongiolatti, the 2002 NESCAC Rookie of the
Year, is the fifth different Tufts softball player to earn top
conference honors in the last five seasons.
Junior pitcher Clara Hard and
junior second baseman Alana Frost of NESCAC Champion Williams were
honored on the first team. Frost, the 2003 NESCAC Rookie of the
Year and three time first-team selection, led the league with a
.411 batting average and was among the league leaders in stolen
bases (10), total bases (60) and runs scored (26). Hard, who also
earned Pitcher of the Year accolades, led the league in wins (12),
while posting a conference best 0.92 ERA yielding just 19 walks and
striking out 87 while holding opponents to a .153 batting average.
Joining Bongiolatti on the first
team are a pair of Tufts freshmen, second baseman Danielle Lopez
and catcher Megan Cusick. Lopez, who was named NESCAC Rookie of the
Year, led the Jumbo attack hitting .379 with 44 hits and 26 runs
scored. Cusick caught 30 of the Jumbos 35 games hitting .302 at the
plate. The trio paced the high powered Tufts offense which ranked
tops in the league in batting average (.302), home runs (42) and
runs scored (199). Second year coach Cheryl Milligan was honored as
NESCAC Coach of the Year by her peers after leading Tufts to a 27-8
mark, their best record since 1995.
Pitchers Miya Warner of Amherst and
Molly Gaebe of Wesleyan were each honored on the first team.
Warner, a first team selection in 2003, finished 11-3 on the year
with a 1.01 ERA while averaging a league-best 9.4 strikeouts per
seven innings. The junior was efficient at the plate striking out
130 while walking only 24 batters in 17 appearances. Gaebe, a
selection for her efforts both on the mound and at the plate,
finished the year with 106 strikeouts and a 2.13 ERA while leading
the Cardinals with 19 runs scored and 17 RBI and hitting .341.
Bowdoin’s Danielle Chagnon
earned first team honors after leading her Polar Bears in several
offensive categories. The junior shortstop was second in the
conference with 32 runs batted in while hitting .384 at the plate.
Katie Franklin of Bates also
received first team accolades. The sophomore outfielder finished
second in the league hitting .391 leading the Bobcats in hits, runs
scored, RBI, slugging percentage, on base percentage and stolen
bases.
Lauren Guza of Middlebury and Paige
Blumer of Trinity round out the all-conference selections. Blumer
hit .366 at the plate with nine doubles and three home runs playing
left field for the Bantams as Trinity made their first appearance
in the conference tournament. First baseman Guza led Middlebury
with 32 hits while batting .364 as the Panthers advanced to the
conference championship for the second consecutive season. Guza and
Blumer, along with Bongiolatti, are the only three seniors on the
all-conference first team.
2005 NESCAC Softball All-Conference
Team
|
| First Team
| School
| Yr.
| Hometown
|
| LF
| Paige Blumer
| Trinity
| Sr.
| Washington, D.C.
|
| SS
| Courtney Bongiolatti
| Tufts
| Sr.
| Locust, N.J.
|
| SS
| Danielle Chagnon
| Bowdoin
| Jr.
| Windsor Locks, Conn.
|
| C
| Megan Cusick
| Tufts
| Fy.
| Albany, N.Y.
|
| 2B
| Alana Frost
| Williams
| Jr.
| Oakland, Calif.
|
| CF
| Katie Franklin
| Bates
| So.
| New Preston, Conn.
|
| P/LF
| Molly Gaebe
| Wesleyan
| So.
| Miami, Fla.
|
| 1B
| Lauren Guza
| Middlebury
| Sr.
| La Canada, Calif.
|
| P
| Clara Hard
| Williams
| Jr.
| Seattle, Wash.
|
| 2B
| Danielle Lopez
| Tufts
| Fy.
| Danvers, Mass.
|
| P
| Miya Warner
| Amherst
| Jr.
| Berkeley, Calif.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Second Team
| School
| Yr.
| Hometown
|
| P/DP
| Erica Bailey
| Tufts
| Fy.
| Scottsdale, Ariz.
|
| UT
| Lauren Battaglia
| Middlebury
| Jr.
| Framingham, Mass.
|
| 1B/P
| Sara Dougherty
| Trinity
| So.
| Long Valley, N.J.
|
| CF
| Becca Feiden
| Wesleyan
| Fy.
| Takoma Park, Md.
|
| CF
| Rachel Hoerger
| Amherst
| Jr.
| Oakland, Calif.
|
| LF
| Katelyn Knox
| Williams
| So.
| Great Falls, Va.
|
| P
| Megan McCarthy
| Middlebury
| Sr.
| Winter Springs, Fla.
|
| P/1B
| Victoria Moshier
| Trinity
| Jr.
| Old Saybrook, Conn.
|
| C
| Elizabeth Neckes
| Amherst
| Fy.
| Dover, Mass.
|
| P
| Emily Nelson
| Bowdoin
| So.
| Pasadena, Calif.
|
| 1B
| Katie Smith
| Tufts
| Sr.
| Convent Station, N.J.
|
| RF
| Michelle “Miki” Starr
| Colby
| So.
| Dunbarton, N.H.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Player of the Year
|
|
|
|
| SS
| Courtney Bongiolatti
| Tufts
| Sr.
| Locust, N.J.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Pitcher of the Year
|
|
|
|
| P
| Clara Hard
| Williams
| Jr.
| Seattle, Wash.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Rookie of the Year
|
|
|
|
| 2B
| Danielle Lopez
| Tufts
| Fy.
| Danvers, Mass.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Coach of the Year
|
|
|
|
|
| Cheryl Milligan
| Tufts
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
