Somerset, NJ -- After finishing the 2013 NEC Softball season in the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, Robert Morris and Central Connecticut swept the major All-Conference awards, while also placing numerous players on the First and Second Teams. The Blue Devils' Kat Malcolm (Branford, CT/Mercy) won Player of the Year and Most Improved, while also being named to the First Team as an outfielder, while the team's coaching staff led by Jeff Franquet was named Coaching Staff of the Year. Robert Morris' Nicole Sleith (Smithton, PA/Yough) and Samantha Santillo (Ellwood City, PA/Lincoln) found themselves in familiar territory, earning Pitcher of the Year and the Golden Glove Award, respectively, for the second year in a row, while teammate Ashley Gerhart (Imperial, PA/West Allegheny) won Rookie of the Year.
Malcolm started all 45 games for the Blue Devils this season and posted a .429 batting average on the season to lead the league (.415 NEC), while posting 66 hits, 35 RBI and 11 doubles. She slugged .675 (.761 NEC) while also making seven of eight steal attempts overall. The sophomore also smacked nine home runs in 2013. She nearly doubled her average and RBI, while nearly tripling her hits from 2012.
Sleith also earned a place on the All-NEC First Team after posting a league-leading overall ERA of 1.51, which ranked 21st in the nationa, and 1.07 in conference games. The sophomore struck out 205 batters this year, for an average of 8.9 per game, while keeping opponents to an average of .174. Sleith earned NEC Pitcher of the Week honors four times during the 2013 season.
Santillo, also a sophomore, recorded 299 putouts, including 147 in league play. She had a fielding percentage of .994. She caught six stealing in conference, while only allowing four.
Gerhart was also named to the NEC-Conference First Team as an outfielder, batting at a .346 clip (.371 NEC) in 2013. The freshman started all 44 games for the Colonials and knocked 14 RBI and 47 total hits, along with three home runs all coming in conference play.
Central Connecticut had three other athletes named All-NEC First team, including pitcher Laura Messina (Marlton, NJ/Camden Catholic), second baseman Arielle Bruno (Millville, NJ/Sacred Heart) and third baseman Nicole Springer (New Britain, CT/Hartford). Messina pitched 214.2 innings this season, including 32 complete games, and struck out 223 while posting an ERA of 1.76 (1.79 NEC), and was named NEC Pitcher of the Week four times during the season for her efforts. Bruno hit .329 (.338 NEC) with 29 RBI, 11 doubles and eight home runs, while Springer hit .400 in conference with 35 RBI and 12 doubles.
Elle Madsen (Wheat Ridge, CO/Wheat Ridge), Lauren Guy (La Habra, CA/La Habra) and Aubrey Mable (Aurora, CO/Eaglecrest) of Bryant all earned a spot on the First Team. Mable, who was All-NEC last year as a shortstop as well, hit .396 (.400 NEC) with 37 RBI, seven home runs and a .705 slugging percentage. Madsen, a freshman and four-time NEC Rookie of the Week honoree, was named as the designated player after averaging .383 in conference while slugging .809. She had 26 total RBI and six home runs. Guy, an outfielder, had a .395 average while posting the league's top slugging percentage of .734 and on base percentage of .503.
Monmouth's Kaitie Schumacher (San Diego, CA/Scripps Ranch) was named to the All-NEC First Team as a first basemen for the second year in a row. The former Player of the Year averaged .269 in conference, with 23 RBI.
Jordan Paolucci (Lake Mary, FL/Lake Mary) of Quinnipiac, a catcher, batted .322 and .404 in conference. She added 44 RBI and 12 home runs on the season, while slugging .611 overall and .825 in the NEC.
RMU's Haileigh Stocks (Jamison, PA/Central Bucks South) is the final member of the All-Conference First Team as the utility player. Stocks posted a .293 batting average (.328) with 23 RBI and six home runs as well a 2.86 ERA.
The Blue Devils also saw several players voted to the All-NEC Second Team. Tessa Brown (Newburgh, NY/Valley Central), a first baseman, averaged .277 on the year with six doubles, while outfielder Evie Rentzel (Dillsburg, PA/Northern York) batted at a.360 clip with 31 RBI and .600 slugging. Designated player Kelsey Barlow (Montville, CT/Montville) played in all 45 games for Central Connecticut and tallied nine home runs and 25 RBI on the year and utility player Brittany Ernst (Mendon, MA/Nipmuch Regional) completed seven of eight steal attempts, including all three in conference play.
LIU Brooklyn's Lauren Morizi (San Diego, CA/New Mexico State) and Whitney West (West Hills, CA/El Camino Real) earned their places on the Second Team this year after helping the Blackbirds back into the tournament to defend their championship title. Morizi, a shortstop, batted .401, including .441 in conference, in addition to slugging .527. West, an outfielder, stole 13 bases out of 16 attempts this season, and averaged .340.
Monmouth's Lauren Sulick (Canfield, OH/Canfield) and Fairleigh Dickinson's Loren Stavrou (Long Beach, CA/Wilson Classical) were named All-NEC Second Team for pitching in 2013. Sulick posted a 1.57 ERA in NEC games with seven shutouts on the season, while giving up just 18 runs. Stavrou had a 1.41 overall ERA (1.59 NEC) and kept her opponents to .216 batting.
Joining Rentzel and West in the outfield was Wagner's Abigail Beasley (Peoria, AZ/Centennial). The freshman hit .362 on the season and slugged .507 with 24 RBI in all 47 games for the Seahawks.
Quinnipiac's Nikki Barba (San Diego, CA/Mt. Carmel), a second basemen, was 7-for-8 in steal attempts, in addition to going 4-for-4 in the NEC, while averaging .331 at the plate. Third baseman Cat Clifford (Hopewell Junction, NY/John Jay) of Mount St. Mary's hit .394 in NEC play while chipping in 24 RBI and eight home runs overall.
Rounding out the 2013 All-NEC second team is Saint Francis U's Chelsy Cosentino (New Kensington, PA/Kiski Area). The catcher totaled 29 RBI along with 13 doubles this season while slugging .525 and batting .354.
Player of the Year
Kat Malcolm (Branford, CT/Mercy) CCSU
Pitcher of the Year
Nicole Sleith (Smithton, PA/Yough) RMU
Golden Glove Award
Samantha Santillo (Ellwood City, PA/Lincoln) RMU
Rookie of the Year
Ashley Gerhart (Imperial, PA/West Allegheny) RMU
Most Improved Player
Kat Malcolm (Branford, CT/Mercy) CCSU
Coaching Staff of the Year
Central Connecticut
2013 All Northeast Conference Softball First Team
Pitcher
Laura Messina ((Marlton, NJ/Camden Catholic) CCSU
Nicole Sleith (Nicole Sleith (Smithton, PA/Yough) RMU
First Base
Kaitie Schumacher (San Diego, CA/Scripps Ranch) MU
Second Base
Arielle Bruno (Millville, NJ/Sacred Heart CCSU
Third Base
Nicole Springer (New Britain, CT/Hartford) CCSU
Short Stop
Aubrey Mable (Aurora, CO/Eaglecrest) BRY
Outfield
Kat Malcolm (Branford, CT/Mercy) CCSU
Lauren Guy (La Habra, CA/La Habra) BRY
Ashley Gerhart (Imperial, PA/West Allegheny) RMU
Catcher
Jordan Paolucci(Lake Mary, FL/Lake Mary QU
Designated Player
Elle Madsen (Wheat Ridge, CO/Wheat Ridge BRY
Utility Player
Haileigh Stocks (Jamison, PA/Central Bucks South) RMU
2013 All Northeast Conference Softball Second Team
Pitcher
Lauren Sulick (Canfield, OH/Canfield MU
Loren Stavrou (Long Beach, CA/Wilson Classical) FDU
First Base
Tessa Brown (Newburgh, NY/Valley Central) CCSU
Second Base
Nikki Barba (San Diego, CA/Mt. Carmel) QU
Third Base
Cat Clifford (Hopewell Junction, NY/John Jay) MSM
Short Stop
Lauren Morizi (San Diego, CA/New Mexico State) LIU
Outfield
Abigail Beasley (Peoria, AZ/Centennial) WC
Whitney West (West Hills, CA/El Camino Real) LIU
Evie Rentzel (Dillsburg, PA/Northern York) CCSU
Catcher
Chelsy Cosentino (New Kensington, PA/Kiski Area SFU
Designated Player
Kelsey Barlow (Montville, CT/Montville) CCSU
Utility Player
Brittany Ernst (Mendon, MA/Nipmuc Regional) CCSU