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Somerset, NJ -- Sacred Heart senior shortstop Hailey Desrosiers (Cypress, CA/Edison) was honored with the Northeast Conference’s biggest individual award of them all, when she was selected as the 2019 NEC Softball Player of the Year, following a vote of the league’s head coaches.
 
In earning a first team All-NEC accolade for the second straight year, Desrosiers leads the NEC with a .406 batting average and .480 on base percentage. She also ranks second in the league in hits (71), doubles (17) and walks (25), and is in the top-10 in 11 different individual categories. Desrosiers has recorded 24 multi-hit games this season, including a four-hit game in late April against Bryant.
 
The Cypress, CA native became the first shortstop to win the award since LIU Brooklyn’s Bianca Mejia in 2010, and she joined Taylor Froelich from 2011 as the only two Pioneers to claim NEC Player of the Year honors.
 
After a 14-2 conference campaign and the 12th NEC regular season softball championship in program history, LIU Brooklyn collected four of the major year-end individual awards.
 
Freshman hurler Elena Valenzuela (Whittier, CA/La Habra) was recognized as the NEC Pitcher of the Year. Valenzuela finished the regular season with a league best 17-3 record and a 2.00 ERA. The five-time NEC Pitcher of the Week tossed seven complete-game shutouts this season to earn spots on the All-NEC first team and All-NEC Rookie team. She was also 7-0 with a 1.77 ERA against conference rivals. Valenzuela is the latest in a long line of top flight Blackbird hurlers to claim this award, and the first NEC freshman to do it since RMU’s Nicole Sleith in 2012. Previous LIU winners of the award were Crystal Eubanks (2000), Jackie Brown (2001), Jessica Busick (2002), Jenny Giles (2006 & 2007), Blaire Porter (2008, 2009 & 2010) and Erynn Sobieski (2016).
 
For NEC Rookie of the Year honors, Valenzuela was edged out by Blackbird teammate Camryn Lyman (Chino Hills, CA/Chino Hills). The freshman second baseman and All-NEC second teamer earned back-to-back NEC Rookie of the Week honors over the final two weeks of the regular season. Lyman wrapped the regular season with a .432 on-base percentage and .362 average to rank seventh and eighth on the circuit, respectively. She hit .429 in league play, including a .487 average with five games of three hits or more in her last 10 contests entering the NEC Tournament. Lyman became the seventh NEC Rookie of the Year in Blackbird history - and third in the last five years – joining Kim Schumm (1997), Crystal Eubanks (2000), Sayde Marzolf (2001), Jessie DePippo (2004), Victoria Zamora (2015) and Ryleigh Bermea (2018).
 
Another Blackbird who is ghost pepper hot entering tournament play is sophomore Alina Castillo (Sacramento, CA/Monterey Trail), who was selected as the NEC’s Most Improved Player. After hitting .259 last season as a freshman, Castillo raised her average up to a team-leading .369 this year by finishing the regular season on a 14-game hit streak. During her 14-game run, Castillo has hit .500 with a pair of homers and 18 RBI. Her improvement was not just limited to year-to-year, but also within the season. After batting just .273 in March, the Blackbird third baseman, who hails from California’s state capital, hit .426 in April, winning a pair of NEC Player of the Week honors in the process. Castillo, who also ranks in the conference top-10 in on-base and slugging percentage, earned a spot on the All-NEC first team, becoming the third different Blackbird third baseman in the last four years to be named a first teamer.
 
Meanwhile, LIU Brooklyn’s coaches were recognized as the NEC Coaching Staff of the Year. The staff, led by longtime Blackbird head coach Roy Kortmann, and flanked by assistants Bill Gehrke, Andy Russo and Lauren Morizi, helped lead the Blackbirds to a second regular season title in the last four years and the top seed in the NEC Tournament. It marks the 10th time in the history of the award that the LIU Brooklyn staff has taken home the league’s top coaching honors. 
 
Sacred Heart also reeled in the program’s first-ever Golden Glove Award winner in first baseman and graduate student Fallon Bevino (Milford, CT/Foran). Bevino, a NEC first team selection, compiled a .991 fielding percentage, after committing just two errors on the season in 228 chances.
 
AWARD WINNER HIGHLIGHTS
 
Two-time reigning NEC champion Saint Francis U and 2019, regular season champion LIU Brooklyn, and Mount St. Mary's each placed a league-high five student-athletes on All-NEC teams. Mount St. Mary’s, which will be making its first NEC Tournament appearance since 2006, set a new program record by placing five student athletes on the All-NEC list. Preseason favorite Sacred Heart landed four on All-NEC squads.
 
Saint Francis U senior slugger Hayley Norton (Spring Grove, PA/Spring Grove) and Wagner second baseman Karen Prihoda (Hamilton Square, NJ/The Lawrenceville School) became rare four-time NEC all-stars with their first team All-NEC nods. Norton, the NEC’s all-time home run leader, leads the league this season with 15 home runs, 61 RBI and a .709 slugging percentage. The outfielder also ranks second with a .385 average. She led the Seahawks in nearly every offensive category this season, batting .374 with 52 hits and 45 runs. The senior paces the league with 28 stolen bases in 30 attempts. Both Norton and Prihoda ended their respective careers as three-time members of the first team.
 
Saint Francis U senior catcher Sierra McKee (DuBois, PA/DuBois) picked up her third straight All-NEC accolade with a second straight selection to the second team. She was a first team all-star in 2017. McKee ranks second in the league in homers (14), RBI (57), runs (47), slugging (.704) and on-base percentage (.463).
 
Sacred Heart pitcher Emily Orosco (Camarillo, CA/Aldolfo Camarillo), NEC Player of the Year Hailey Desrosiers (Cypress, CA/Edison) and Central Connecticut sophomore designated hitter Sydney Bolan (Fairport, NY/Fairport) all made a return appearance on the All-NEC first team. Orosco followed up her NEC Pitcher of the Year season 2018 with an 11-5 regular season, striking out a league-high 136 batters. Bolan was Central’s biggest bat all season, standing amongst the league leaders with 10 home runs and 39 RBI on the year.
 
LIU outfielder Patricia Griffin (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee) jumped up to the NEC first team after being voted to the second team a year ago. Griffin’s 57 hits rank first on the Blackbirds and top-five in the NEC. The redshirt junior sparks the top of the Blackbird batting order, hitting .345 with a .413 on base percentage.
 
Kaylee Stoner (Hummelstown, PA/Lower Dauphin) became the Mount’s first first-teamer since Rachel and Lindsay Heinze two years ago. Stoner was fire on the mountain in Emmitsburg at the top of the Mountaineer lineup, batting .343 with 58 hits, good for fourth in the league. The junior also successfully swiped 14 bases this year and leads the NEC with four triples.
 
Bryant’s Gabrielle Ermish (Pottstown, PA/Pottsgrove) was a dual threat in the circle and in the batter’s box, earning first team All-Conference at the utility position. After jumping back to hitting at the start of conference play, Ermish hit safely in her first seven games, finishing the year batting .300 with a homer and 11 RBI. As a pitcher, the junior went 5-2 with a 2.10 ERA in league play, with 32 strikeouts to eight walks. Ermish became Bryant’s first first-teamer since 2015.
 
LIU Brooklyn placed a league-best three student-athletes on the All-NEC Rookie team as Camryn Lyman (Chino Hills, CA/Chino Hills) and Elena Valenzuela (Whittier, CA/La Habra) were joined by Blackbird freshman catcher Samantha Garcia (West Covina, CA/St. Lucy’s). Garcia helped manage the Blackbirds’ top-ranked pitching staff from behind the plate, while tossing out six potential base stealers. At the plate, Garcia is batting .271 with five home runs and is fourth on the team with 27 RBI, to also earn All-NEC first team recognition. 
 
About The Northeast Conference
Now in its 38th year, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of 10 institutions of higher learning located throughout six states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to four of the largest markets in the United States - New York (#1), Pittsburgh (#22), Baltimore (#26), and Hartford/New Haven (#30).  Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 22 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic access to 14 different NCAA Championships. NEC member institutions include Bryant, Central Connecticut, Fairleigh Dickinson, LIU Brooklyn, Mount St. Mary’s, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart, St. Francis Brooklyn, Saint Francis U and Wagner. Merrimack will join the NEC as a full-time member in July, 2019. For more information on the NEC, visit the league’s official website (www.northeastconference.org) and digital network (www.necfrontrow.com), or follow the league on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat, all @NECsports.
 
2019 Northeast Conference Softball Award Winners

Player of the Year
Hailey Desrosiers     Sacred Heart          SS       Sr.    R/R    Cypress, CA / Edison 

Pitcher of the Year
Elena Valenzuela      LIU Brooklyn          P        Fr.    R/R    Whittier, CA / La Habra 

Golden Glove Award
Fallon Bevino         Sacred Heart          1B        Gr.    R/R    Milford, CT / Foran 

Rookie of the Year
Camryn Lyman          LIU Brooklyn          OF        Fr.    L/R    Chino Hills, CA / Chino Hills

Most Improved Player
Alina Castillo        LIU Brooklyn          3B        So.    L/R    Sacramento, CA / Monterey Trail 

Coach of the Year
Roy Kortmann, Bill Gehrke, Andy Russo & Lauren Morizi         LIU Brooklyn
  
2019 Northeast Conference Softball First Team All-Conference
 
Name                  School                Pos      Yr      B/T    Hometown/High School (Previous School)
Emily Orosco          Sacred Heart          P        Sr.     R/R    Camarillo, CA / Aldolfo Camarillo
Elena Valenzuela      LIU Brooklyn          P        Fr.     R/R    Whittier, CA / La Habra
Samantha Garcia       LIU Brooklyn          C        Fr.     R/R    West Covina, CA / St. Lucy’s
Fallon Bevino         Sacred Heart          1B       Gr.     R/R    Milford, CT / Foran
Karen Prihoda         Wagner                2B       Sr.     L/R    Hamilton Square, NJ / The Lawrenceville School
Alina Castillo        LIU Brooklyn          3B       So.     L/R    Sacramento, CA / Monterey Trail
Hailey Desrosiers     Sacred Heart          SS       Sr.     R/R    Cypress, CA / Edison
Patricia Griffin      LIU Brooklyn          OF       R-Jr.   L/R    Marlton, NJ / Cherokee
Hayley Norton         Saint Francis U       OF       Sr.     L/L    Spring Grove, PA / Spring Grove
Kaylee Stoner         Mount St. Mary’s      OF       Jr.     R/R    Hummelstown, PA / Lower Dauphin
Sydney Bolan          Central Connecticut   DH       So.     R/R    Fairport, NY / Fairport
Gabrielle Ermish      Bryant                UT       Jr.     R/R    Pottstown, PA / Pottsgrove 

2019 Northeast Conference Softball Second Team All-Conference
 
Name                  School                Pos      Yr      B/T    Hometown/High School (Previous School)
Amanda Berkley        Mount St. Mary’s      P        So.     R/R    Olney, MD / Sherwood
Christina Clark       Saint Francis U       P        Fr.     R/R    Avon, OH / Avon
Sierra McKee          Saint Francis U       C        Sr.     R/R    DuBois, PA / DuBois
Natalie Higgins       Robert Morris         1B       Jr.     R/R    Middletown, OH / Madison
Camryn Lyman          LIU Brooklyn          2B       Fr.     L/R    Chino Hills, CA / Chino Hills
Lindsay Heinze        Mount St. Mary’s      3B       Sr.     R/R    Charlotte Hall, MD / St. Mary’s Ryken
Mekenzie Saban        Saint Francis U       SS       So.     L/R    Pittsburgh, PA / North Hills
Shelbee Holcomb       Mount St. Mary’s      OF       Jr.     R/R    Glen Rock, PA / Delone Catholic
Abrielle McCartney    Robert Morris         OF       Sr.     L/R    McDonald, PA / Canon-McMillan
Amy Petrovich         Sacred Heart          OF       Fr.     R/R    East Hanover, NJ / Hanover HS
Amelia Van Orman      Wagner                DH       Jr.     L/L    Orange, CA / Lutheran High School of Orange County
Mikayla Bower         Saint Francis U       UT       Sr.     R/R    Williamsport, PA / Williamsport 

2019 Northeast Conference Softball All-Rookie Team
 
Name                  School                Pos      Yr     B/T    Hometown/High School (Previous School)
Kaia Bonshock         Mount St. Mary’s      IF       Fr.    L/L    Shamokin, PA / Shamokin Area
Toni Camarillo        Bryant                IF       Fr.    L/R    Corona, CA / Norco
Christina Clark       Saint Francis U       P        Fr.    R/R    Avon, OH / Avon
Rian Eigenmann        Central Connecticut   C        Fr.    R/R    Millville, NJ / Millville
Samantha Garcia       LIU Brooklyn          C        Fr.    R/R    West Covina, CA / St. Lucy’s
Camryn Lyman          LIU Brooklyn          IF       Fr.    L/R    Chino Hills, CA / Chino Hills
Kristyna Mala         Robert Morris         IF       Fr.    R/R    Prague, Czech Republic / SaBaT Praha
Alexa Milius          Central Connecticut   IF       Fr.    R/R    Thomaston, CT / Thomaston
Amy Petrovich         Sacred Heart          OF       Fr.    R/R    East Hanover, NJ / Hanover HS
Elena Valenzuela      LIU Brooklyn          P        Fr.    R/R    Whittier, CA / La Habra
Dana Vatakis          Robert Morris         P        Fr.    R/R    Monessen, PA / Monessen