The Empire 8 announced its 2012 Softball All-Conference Team with sophomore first baseman Sydney Folk of conference champion Ithaca College being named Player of the Year. Sophomore pitcher Jillian Olmstead of the Bombers and junior Danielle Leone of St. John Fisher College shared the Pitcher of the Year honor.
Folk hit .500 in conference regular season play with 10 runs scored, four doubles, a triple, two home runs, and 17 runs batted in over 12 games. She posted a slugging percentage of .853.
Olmstead went undefeated in Empire 8 regular season play, posting a 6-0 record with a 0.56 earned run average, yielding three runs in 37.2 innings of work. Leone finished regular season conference play with a 4-2 mark and 1.43 earned run average, allowing seven earned runs in 44 innings.
Joining Folk and Olmstead on the all-conference first team for the Bombers was sophomore pitcher Sam Bender, who also went 6-0 in Empire 8 play and posted a 1.29 earned run average.
Three Cardinals joined Leone on the first team. Junior catcher Leanne Merchant batted .485 with 13 runs scored, six doubles, a home run, and 14 RBI in 12 games. Junior third baseman Kayla Goodberlet hit .415 with 10 runs scored, three doubles, and six RBI. First-year designated player Kaylee Tallman batted .444 with four home runs and 10 RBI.
Four players from Alfred University garnered first-team all-conference honors. Senior Angela Netta led all outfielders with a .500 batting average, 10 runs scored, four doubles, four home runs, and 11 RBI in Empire 8 regular season play. Junior second baseman Maressa Mistretta hit .375 with six runs scored and a 1.000 fielding percentage, and junior utility player Hana Gross batted .324 with five RBI. Sophomore outfielder Breeal Delgado batted .410 with seven runs scored, four doubles, a home run, and 11 RBI.
Sophomore shortstop Danielle DeFeo of Stevens Institute of Technology was named to the all-conference first team after hitting .488 with 11 runs scored in Empire 8 play.
Junior outfielder Meghan Matan of Utica College hit .457 with 15 runs scored to earn a spot on the all-conference first team.
Shortstops Katie Dore of Elmira College and Francessa Busa of Ithaca shared Empire 8 Rookie of the Year honors. Dore batted .447 with 12 runs scored, six doubles, two home runs, and seven RBI. Busa hit .395 with 13 runs scored, two doubles, a home run, and six RBI, while posting a .957 fielding percentage.
Deb Pallozzi was named Coach of the Year for the second consecutive time after leading Ithaca to Empire 8 title and the program’s 25th trip to the NCAA Division III Softball Championship. The honor is her sixth.
One member of each team was named that institution’s representative on the 2012 Softball Sportswoman of the Year Team. Empire 8 emphasizes that "Competing with Honor and Integrity" is an essential component of a student-athlete’s experience in conjunction with an institution’s educational mission. These honorees have distinguished themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits as outstanding sportswomen.
2012 Empire 8 Softball Awards
Player of the Year: Sydney Folk, Ithaca College
Co-Pitcher of the Year: Danielle Leone, St. John Fisher College
Co-Pitcher of the Year: Jillian Olmstead, Ithaca College
Co-Rookie of the Year: Katie Dore, Elmira College
Co-Rookie of the Year: Francesca Busa, Ithaca College
Coach of the Year: Deb Pallozzi, Ithaca College
2012 Empire 8 Softball All-Conference Team