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2008 Softball Season Wrap-Up
Crusaders Set New Team Record With 31 Wins
5/22/2008 12:18:02 PM
Record: 31-12, 16-4 PAC
Head Coach: Craig Wojszwillo (13th season)
Assistant Coaches: Phyllis Meals (4th season), Bob McSurdy (5th season), Lindsay Trottier (3rd season)
Postseason: Defeated Marywood 5-0 in PAC First Round, lost to Neumann 8-0 and Gwynedd-Mercy 1-2 in PAC Championships. Lost to Lake Erie College 4-6 in ECAC First Round.
Thursday May 22, 2008 (Reading, PA) – The Crusader softball team was paced by a mixture of youth and experience as they set a new team record for wins with 31, surpassing the 2002 record of 24. After a 3-4 spring break trip to Florida, Alvernia returned home to win 21 out of their next 23 games. Their season was highlighted by a 13-game winning streak including a sweep of MAC Freedom Conference Champion DeSales University. Alvernia employed the eight-run rule in 11 of their 43 games this season and outhit their opponents by nearly .100 points with a team batting average of .339 and holding opponents to .242.
This year’s freshman class made an exciting and immediate impact, with five freshman earning starting roles. The left side of the infield was held down by the stellar duo of freshman Rhiannon Sorrentino (Whitehall, PA/Whitehall) at third base and Michele Kassab (Pompton Lakes, NJ/Pompton Lakes) at shortstop. Sorrentino paced the Crusaders at the plate with 59 hits, 13 doubles and a .706 slugging percentage. Sorrentino, Alvernia’s lead-off batter had three triples, one shy of the Division III record, in a 12-2 win over Wesley College (4/2) and was 8-for-9 with five runs scored and five RBIs in the doubleheader. She earned the PAC Player of the Week for the week ended April 6th after batting .611 with seven runs, 11 hits, three doubles and nine RBI and was named the conference rookie of the year. Kassab was equally impressive at the plate with a .409 batting average, seven doubles, five triples, five homeruns and a team-leading .472 on-base percentage. Kassab, who seemed to have a knack for clutch hits, led the team with 35 RBIs. She was a perfect 11-11 in steals, was named PAC Player of the Week (4/14) and earned a spot on the All-PAC First Team.
Another impressive freshman duo could be found on the mound and behind the plate in pitcher Michelle Jensen (Holland, NJ/Delaware Valley) and catcher Samantha Geisinger (Thurmont, MD/Catoctin). Jensen posted an impressive 1.72 ERA with 16 wins to only five losses. She led the pitching staff with 110 innings pitched and opponents batted just .220 off of her. Jensen threw only the second perfect game in program history against Immaculata University (3/12) facing the minimum 15 batters in Alvernia’s 8-0 victory. Behind the plate Geisinger guided the pitching staff and led the team with a .421 batting average over 23 games.
Not to be outdone, Alvernia’s upperclassmen provided steady leadership in the form of five batting averages over .300. Senior Jackie Rhoads (Dillsburg, PA/Northern York) who has been an absolute stalwart player for Alvernia over the last four season batted .364 and led the team with seven homeruns. She added 33 RBIs and a .426 on-base percentage. Rhoads led all regular players with a .969 fielding average, committing just three errors over 40 games. Junior pitcher Emily Williams (Minersville, PA/Minersville) was a reliable force on the mound with 11 wins and a 2.41, she also produced at the plate with a .366 batting average with eight doubles. Senior infielder Shannon Higgins (Blue Bell, PA/Wissahickan) had a break-out season and batted .359 with six doubles and 14 RBIs.
After a disappointingly early exit in the PAC Championships, Alvernia earned their second bid ever to the ECAC Championships. They hosted their first round game versus Lake Erie College and eventually fell by a score of 4-6. Alvernia’s will return their top four hitters and two aces as they enter the MAC Freedom Conference for the 2009 season.
Athletes of the Week
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Softball
Batted .600 (7-12) in two conference matchups for the Crusaders this week. Two doubles, one triple, and two homeruns contributed to four RBIs for Sorrentino, also plated 6 runs scored.
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Baseball
Batted .667 (10-15) with three doubles, one triple, and three RBIs in a 2 win, 2 lose week for the Crusaders. Also scored 9 runs and was perfect in stolen base attempts. (3-3)
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Sports:
06.19 | Men's Basketball
Reading, Pa. (June 19, 2008) - Alvernia College had 60 of the 462 student-athletes honored on the All-Pennsylvania Athletic Conference Academic Team. The baseball program has the most members with 14 and softball wasn't far behind with 11 members.
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06.18 | Softball
Wednesday, June 18, 2008 (Reading, PA) - Junior pitcher Emily Williams (Minersville, PA/Nativity) was named to the ECAC South First Team as announced by the conference on Wednesday morning. Williams earned the honor as a utility player after playing in 36 games for the Crusaders with a 11-6 record on the mound and a .366 batting average.
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05.22 | Softball
Thursday May 22, 2008 (Reading, PA) - The Crusader softball team was paced by a mixture of youth and experience as they set a new team record for wins with 31, surpassing the 2002 record of 24. After a 3-4 spring break trip to Florida, Alvernia returned home to win 21 out of their next 23 games. Their season was highlighted by a 13-game winning streak including a sweep of MAC Freedom Conference Champion DeSales University. Alvernia employed the eight-run rule in 11 of their 43 games this season and outhit their opponents by nearly .100 points with a team batting average of .339 and holding opponents to .242.
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05.13 | Softball
Wednesday May 7, 2008 (Reading, PA) - Alvernia softball had three players honored with PAC awards to cap off their record breaking season of 31 wins. Freshman Rhiannon Sorrentino (Whitehall, PA/Whitehall) earned PAC Rookie of the Year honors as announced by the conference on Tuesday. Also earning all-conference honors were freshman shortstop Michele Kassab (Pompton Lakes, NJ/Pompton Lakes) and Emily Williams (Minersville, PA/Nativity) who were both named to the All-PAC First Team.
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05.07 | Softball
Wednesday May 7, 2008 (Reading, PA) - The Crusader softball team (31-12) fell to Lake Erie College (22-18) this afternoon in the first round of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championships. Alvernia battled back from an early 2-0 deficit to take the 3-2 late in the game, but could not hold off the Lake Erie rally. Senior Jackie Rhoads (Dillsburg, PA/Northern York) was 2-for-3 with three RBIs on the day.
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