Schedule |
Roster
WATERBURY, Conn. – With every player returning from last year's squad, the Post University softball team looks to have its best season yet under fifth-year head coach
Tracey Garofalo. In the 2011 campaign, the Eagles finished 24-24 overall with a 15-11 record in Central Atlantic Athletic Conference (CACC) play. Post made it to the second day of the conference tournament before falling to Caldwell, 5-4.
“We are excited for this 2012 season,” Garofalo said. “The student-athletes have been working hard every day and our main goal as a coaching staff is for our players to get better each and every day. We have four seniors who will lead us not only on the field but in the classroom as well.”
Infield
Three of the four Eagles seniors play in the infield, led by catcher
Amy Mantha (Agawam, Mass.), who was named First Team All-CACC in 2011. Mantha led the team with a .385 batting average and a .445 on-base percentage. She also hit four home runs and notched 28 RBIs. Backing her up will be Second Team All-CACC and two-time CACC Rookie of the Week, sophomore
Stephanie DeMartino (Staten Island, N.Y.). DeMartino had a team-high 58 hits, including 18 doubles, and 35 RBIs in her rookie campaign.
Seniors
Kim Bentson (Brewster, N.Y) and
Cassidie Ern (Hope Valley, R.I.) and sophomores
Christina Udris (Leavittown, Pa.) and
Brandi Davis (Magnolia, Del.) round out the returning starters. Bentson posted a .956 fielding percentage and hit eight doubles. Ern tallied a team-high 31 runs and 219 putouts playing first base. Udris led Post with five home runs and hit at a .343 clip. Davis hit 11 doubles and stole four bases.
Alysha Pieta (Middletown, Conn.),
Christina Marino (Mahopac, N.Y) and
Rebecca Erb (Yardley, Pa.) will also see action in the infield.
Outfield
Samantha Pagano (Marlboro, N.Y) is the only senior in the group, and was the only Eagle to start all 48 games in 2011. Offensively, she finished with a .263 batting average and swiped six bases, defensively, she committed just one error.
Sophomores
Jackie Bonamassa (Staten Island, N.Y.) and
Casey Sclafani (Brooklyn, N.Y.), and junior
Lianna May (King Ferry, N.Y.) will all see time in both the outfield and infield. Bonamassa led the Eagles with eight stolen bases last year. Sclafani had 29 hits, including one triple. May started 41 games and drove in 14 runs.
Sophomores
Jessica Colletti (Manhasset, N.Y.) and
Stephanie Melendez (White Plains, N.Y.) round out the group. Colletti saw action in three games last year, while Melendez is one of three newcomers for the Eagles.
Pitching
The Eagles pitching staff returns junior
Ashley Cummings (Stafford, Va.), who made 28 starts and finished with a 15-13 record. Her 15 wins tied for the second most in the CACC in 2011. She also sported a 3.90 earned-run average and notched 113 strikeouts. Junior
Johanna Rice (Glendale, N.Y.) made 16 starts, finishing with a 7-8 record and 46 strikeouts. Pieta also made four starts last season.
They are joined by the only two freshmen on the squad in
Cassandra Duffy (Greenville, N.Y.) and
Kaitlin Derby (Douglasston, N.Y.).
Schedule
The Eagles kick-off the 2012 season with nine games over a four-day stretch at the NTC Spring Games in Clermont, Fla., beginning on Sunday, March 4. Post will play two nationally-ranked teams during the series in No. 22 West Virginia Wesleyan and No. 19 University of Tampa.
Post will play its first game at the newly-renovated LaMoy Field on March 18 against Philadelphia. They will host defending CACC Champion Dominican on March 23. The season ends at home against Chestnut Hill on April 21.
“This is a great group of young ladies to coach,” Garofalo said. “The biggest thing for me is to make sure they play hard, finish every game, play to the very last pitch, and most importantly believe in each other and themselves. I believe if we do that on a daily basis we will have a successful season.”
