Nine Blue Devils Earn All-NEC Softball Honors; Gleason And Holden Named Coaching Staff Of The Year

The Central Connecticut State softball team had nine players honored with NEC All-Conference and All-Rookie Team recognition, as voted by the leagues head coaches it was announced on the eve of the league tournament. The Blue Devils coaching staff of Breanne Gleason and Patrick Holden was recognized as the NEC Coaching Staff of the Year.

Half of the 14-member All-NEC First Team wear the Blue and White of CCSU and the seven selections equal the most by a single-team in NEC history. Battery-mates Liz Hamilton and Reagan Vunak, along with infielders Grace Lawton, Skylar Warn and Ava Cino, as well as outfielder Ashlyn Desaulniers and designated player Joslyn Teal all earned First Team honors. Hailey Strunk and Stella Gasper were both named to the All-NEC Second Team and Gasper was recognized on the NEC All-Rookie Team.

Gleason and Holden piloted the Blue Devils to a 20-4 NEC mark, equaling the program record for league wins. For the first time in program history the Blue Devils won every league series and as a result posted the program's best NEC winning percentage. Central has secured a winning season for the third time in four years and are playing in the NEC Tournament for a fourth consecutive season.  The coaching staff of the year honor is the fifth all-time for CCSU, the fourth with Gleason on the staff and the third time Holden has been honored.

Hamilton won a league-best 15 games this fall, with 11 victories coming in conference play. She fanned 70 opponents in 88.2 innings of work in NEC competition and finished league play with a 3.39 ERA. Overall, she has fanned 104 batters, second in the league, catching a league-high 26 opponents looking. Opponents are hitting just .270 against her this spring.

Vunak earned First Team as the league's top catcher, with the league's ninth-highest batting average, .364 on the year. She is 10^th in the league with 27 runs scored and ranks 20^th with 24 RBI.  Vunak has thrown out 82 percent of runners trying to steal a base on her.

Lawton was named to the First Team at first base after hitting a league-best 12 homeruns this season. She is the only player in the NEC with multiple home runs in a single game, with two against FDU on March 14^th. Lawton also leads the league with 43 RBI, which is two shy of the program's single-season record. Lawton is hitting .390 on the season with an OPS of 1.249, third and second in the conference respectively.

Warn earned the First Team nod at second base after hitting .321 during the regular season and .333 versus NEC opponents. She had half of her 14 doubles against league opponents and three of her four home runs. Warn was nearly perfect in the field, with a .989 field percentage on 90 chances.

Cino added the First Team nod at shortstop after a season that she hit .371 and knocked out a league-leading 15 doubles, which is 0.37 per game – 21^st in the NCAA. She enters the tournament three doubles shy of the single-season school record and on the cusp of the career mark as well. Cino drove in 28 runs for the Blue Devils and scored 24 times, ranking 11^th and 17^th in the NEC respectively.

Desaulniers hit .340 during the campaign and ranked second in the NEC with 30 runs scored. She finished the campaign with 16 extra base hits, finishing 10^th in the league with five home runs and 13^th with her 10 doubles. In league play, Desaulniers raised her batting average to .376 and scored 25 times. The league's top centerfielder, Desaulniers boasted a .980 fielding percentage during the campaign.

Teal earned the nod as the designated player on the First Team, after batting .438 in conference play and slugging .667 against NEC opponents. She hit .371 on the year, second on the Blue Devils' roster, with eight extra-base hits and 15 runs scored.

Gasper earned Second Team honors at third base, as well as being named to the All-Rookie Team. She batted .317 during her freshman campaign, with seven doubles and a homerun – which was a grand slam the final weekend of the year. Gasper finished with 26 RBI and 16 runs scored over the course of the season.

Strunk earned Second Team accolades after hurling her way to an 8-0 record versus league opponents. She started nine times, threw seven complete games and threw a pair of shutouts against NEC opposition. Her 2.55 ERA in league play was fourth in the conference, while her eight wins was third. Overall, she was 9-3 on the year.

The Blue Devils, the second seed in the upcoming NEC Tournament, hit a league-leading .360 against conference opponents with 81 extra base hits, including 21 homeruns and 49 doubles. CCSU opens tournament play on Thursday versus third-seeded Wagner at 3:00 pm. The tournament is being hosted by LIU in Brooklyn, NY. Tournament information can be found at NEC Tournament Central.