Five members of the Hofstra Softball team were honored on the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Louisville Slugger All-Mid Atlantic Region team, it was announced today.
Senior shortstop Pam Dreslinski (Kingsville, OH/Edgewood - pictured) earned first-team All-Mid Atlantic Region honors, along with junior pitcher Kayleigh Lotti (South Attleboro, MA/St. Raphael's Academy) and junior second baseman Casey Fee (Long Beach, NY/Long Beach), who tied for first team honors with Canisius' Katie Miranto. Sophomore first baseman Michele DePasquale (Waterford, NJ/Camden Catholic) and junior center fielder Erika Bernstein (Somerville, NJ/Somerville) were named to the second team.
Lotti was named to the first-team All-Mid Atlantic Region squad for the third year in a row. Dreslinski was honored for the first time by the NFCA, while Fee moved up to the first team after earning second-team honors last spring. Bernstein was honored for the second time (one first-team and one second-team selection), while DePasquale was chosen for the first time.
Hofstra's five all-region selections have helped the Pride compile a 43-11 record, tying the school record for wins in a season. They were also a part of a Hofstra team that won the Colonial Athletic Association regular season and postseason championships, earning the tournament title with a pair of wins on Sunday over James Madison (3-1 in 11 innings in the first game and 3-0 in the second game). The tournament title marked its 11th conference championship in a row, extending its NCAA record, including all seven since the CAA was founded in 2002 (and its last four as members of the America East from 1998-2001).
Dreslinski has been a starter for all four seasons since she arrived at Hofstra, including the last two as the team's shortstop. She has a .305 batting average and 29 RBI this season, while ranking eighth on the Pride's career list with 119 career RBI. A year ago, she homered in all three games of the NCAA Regionals for Hofstra, including a game-winning walk-off homer in the ninth inning against Harvard. She has also anchored a defense which ranks fourth nationally in team fielding percentage (.980).
Lotti made her third appearance on the NFCA Mid-Atlantic first team after compiling a 21-5 record ana 1.22 ERA heading into the NCAA Tournament. She was named the CAA Pitcher of the Year for the second season in a row, after compiling a 17-1 record against conference foes (including 4-0 in the CAA Tournament). She alreday has the Hofstra career strikeout record with 725, nearly 100 more than the old school record of 638 (which was set by Stacy Jackson from 1992-95). She currently ranks fifth in the nation in hits allowed at just 3.4 per seven innings.
Fee moved up to the NFCA All-Region first team this year after settling into a role as the Pride's leadoff hitter. She is batting .348 with 14 RBI and 24 stolen bases (in 24 attempts). She had a rare walk-off inside-the-park home run in the Pride's 2-1 win over NCAA qualifier Lehigh back on April 2, and was a first-team All-CAA selection. She already ranks fourth in Hofstra on the career stolen base list with 40, with one full season still to play, including 27 straight successful attempts dating back to last year.
Bernstein has also been a key part of a Hofstra offense that set a school record with 75 stolen bases. She has 14 this year, which ranks ninth on the Pride's single-season list, but third on this year's team (behind Fee and sophomore outfielder Kris Root with 26). She enters the NCAA Tournament with a .313 batting average and has played flawless defense in center field, with no errors this season. She was named first-team All-CAA for the second year in a row as well.
DePasquale emerged in the second half of the season as one of the Pride's top offensive threats. She broke the school record for longest hitting streak when she reached safely in 25 straight games from March 21-May 3, breaking the old record of 18 held by Crystal Boyd. She is batting a team-best .378 heading into the NCAA Tournament, to go along with 21 RBI, and also has not committed an error all season at first base. She was a first-team All-CAA selection thi year, after making he All-Rookie team as a freshman last spring.
Hofstra will be hosting an NCAA Regional for the third year in a row this weekend, as two-time defending national champion Arizona visits Hempstead. Hofstra will open play on Friday against local rival LIU at 2:30 p.m., following the first game of the day between Arizona and Canisius. It is Hofstra's sixth straight NCAA Tournament appearance and ninth in the last 10 years.
Ten of the players selected to the All-Mid Atlantic team will be in Hofstra's regional, including three of the four pitchers (Lotti, LIU's Blaire Porter, and Canisius' Juliette Bowers). Canisius also had Miranto and outfielder Jenny Maheu named to the first team, while LIU placed shortstop Celena Castillo on the second team.
NFCA/Louisville Slugger All-Mid Atlantic Region Teams
First Team
P - Kayleigh Lotti, Hofstra
P - Blaire Porter, Long Island
C - Brooke Darreff, Saint Joseph's
1B - Sarde Stewart, Maryland
2B - Casey Fee, Hofstra
2B - Katie Miranto, Canisius
3B - Elise Menaker, Cornell
SS - Pam Dreslinski, Hofstra
OF - Jenny Belak, Maryland
OF - Jenna Campagnolo, Cornell
OF - Jenny Maheu, Canisius
UT/P - Lisa Sweeney, Lehigh
UT/Non-P - Ashli Breau, George Mason
Second Team
P - Juliette Bowers, Canisius
P - Meredith Felts, James Madison
C - Samantha Card, Pittsburgh
1B - Michele DePasquale, Hofstra
2B - Annie Kinsey, Pennsylvania
2B - Andrea Lazzari, Wagner
3B - Amber Kirk, James Madison
SS - Celina Castillo, Long Island
SS - Christina Khosravi, Pennsylvania
OF - Erika Bernstein, Hofstra
OF - Kate Marvel, Lehigh
OF - Brooke Panepinto, Robert Morris
UT/P - Allison Twarowski, Fordham
UT/Non-P - Jocelyn Dearborn, Fordham
