Softball | 6/18/2024 9:58:57 AM
The Empire 8 Conference is celebrating the league’s 25th Anniversary season in 2023-24, honoring student-athletes, teams, coaches and administrators who have played a key role in the league’s success over the last 25 years. Empire 8 Softball is no exception, as several individuals and teams have excelled at the conference, national and regional levels.
RIT was awarded the first E8 Softball Championship in 2001 as the top team in the regular season. In 2003, the league held its first Empire 8 Championship Tournament to crown a league championship, as Ithaca College claimed its second of six straight titles, en route to a league-high 10 crowns over the first quarter century of play. St. John Fisher is right behind with nine E8 titles, including five in the last seven seasons of play. Alfred University has won three titles, while RIT has one.
St. John Fisher pitcher Lindsey Thayer was a four-time Empire 8 Pitcher of the Year and four-time All-American (Third Team – 2015; First Team – 2016, 2017, 2018). She holds NCAA records with 1,484 career strikeouts in 889 career innings pitched and has the second and fourth most strikeouts in one season in NCAA history. She won 102 games in four seasons, had 58 shutouts and two perfect games. Laura Remia of Ithaca was the Division III National Player of the Year in 2001, while fellow Bombers standout Hannah Shalett was the Division III Catcher of the Year in 2007.
Thayer, Katie Mazierski and Ashley Prince of St. John Fisher, Kim Martin of Utica University and Leigh Bonkowski, Carly Myers, Shalett and Jess Stangarone of Ithaca were four-time All-Empire 8 first team selections.
Former Ithaca head coach Deb Pallozzi holds the E8 record with 564 coaching wins in addition to 10 Empire 8 titles and seven Coach of the Year titles. Len Maiorani of St. John Fisher is second with 412 wins and four league titles, while current Cardinals head coach Bari Mance has 314 wins, a .719 winning percentage, five E8 titles and three Coach of the Year awards in just 10 seasons. Pat Mineo of Utica won 342 games and two Coach of the Year honors, while Alfred’s Gino Oliveri was a three-time E8 Coach of the Year. Current Alfred head coach Luke Wesneski led the Saxons to back-to-back league titles in 2021 and 2022.
Ithaca won the NCAA Division III Softball Championship in 2002, defeating Lake Forest, 1-0 in the championship game for the league’s lone national title. The Bombers also advanced to the College World Series in 2000, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2010. St. John Fisher made back-to-back magical runs to the College World Series, finishing tied for third overall in 2016, while earning national runner-up honors in 2017.
Below we are honoring members of the Empire 8 Softball 25th Anniversary Team. Recipients were chosen by the league office and were named either an Empire 8 Player or Pitcher of the Year, First, Second or Third Team All-American or earned All-Empire 8 first team honors at least three times in their collegiate careers.
Empire 8 Softball 25th Anniversary Team
Kerry Barger, C, Ithaca
Kayla Berardi, P, Stevens
Robin Bimson, P, Ithaca
Leigh Bonkowski, OF, Ithaca
Nicole Cade, P/UT, Ithaca
Marissa Cappello, P, Stevens
Erica Cutspec, SS, Ithaca
Emily Daciw, P, Nazareth
Taylor DiCranian, UT, Russell Sage
Maddie Donlin, OF, St. John Fisher
Sara Dresser, SS, St. John Fisher
Kaitlyn Dulac, 1B, Ithaca
Sydney Folk, 1B, Ithaca
Karen Folts, 2B, Alfred
Sarah Fordyce, 1B, St. John Fisher
Kristin Furdon, C, Ithaca
Danielle Guccia, 3B, St. John Fisher
Arden Hatch, P, Alfred
Nicole Hedrick, U, Alfred
Emily Joss, SS/OF, Utica
Brittany Kemp, P, RIT
Amanda Kent, OF/SS, St. John Fisher
Allie Klonowski, OF, St. John Fisher
Kelly Kocher, P, Nazareth
Sarah Kubik, 1B, St. John Fisher
Danielle Leone, P, St. John Fisher
Brittany Lillie, P/OF, Ithaca
Ashley Lugo, SS, Alfred
Kim Martin, OF, Utica
Megan Matan, 3B, Utica
Katie Mazierski, 3B, St. John Fisher
Shari McNamara, P, RIT
Carly Myers, P, Ithaca
Allison O’Toole, DP/U, Alfred
Jillian Olmstead, P, Ithaca
Cassidy Ormond, P, St. John Fisher
Ariana Papas, OF, Russell Sage
Ashley Prince, OF, St. John Fisher
Laura Remia, 1B, Ithaca
Nicole Rice, 2B, Utica
Jennifer Rodriguez, IF/U, Utica
Samantha Schattin, OF, Stevens
Molly Schnieble, DP, St. John Fisher
Hannah Shalett, C, Ithaca
Zahida Sherman, P, Ithaca
Amanda Shevchuk, P, St. John Fisher
Sarah Simmons, OF, Nazareth
Mari Spitz, C, St. John Fisher
Jessica Stangarone, 2B, Ithaca
Sarah Stefanon, P, St. John Fisher
Lindsey Thayer, P, St. John Fisher
Liz Thompson, 3B, Alfred
Emily Trotman, 3B/P, St. John Fisher
Jennifer Vanek, OF, St. John Fisher
Mya Wells, 1B, Alfred
Allison Wickwire, P/1B, Alfred
Jessica Wilcox, P, Alfred
Founded in 1999, the Empire 8 has developed into one of the premier NCAA Division III athletic conferences, both on the field and in the classroom. The conference has created and implemented innovative and groundbreaking sportsmanship programming over this time, many of our which have received great publicity, including features in USA Today, The Chronicle of Higher Education, The NCAA News, and various athletic profession publications. The Empire 8 has also been highly influential in helping to shape the Division III landscape, passing many legislative proposals along with individuals who hold leadership roles at the national level.
Feature stories and series’ celebrating the league’s 25th anniversary will be highlighted on the conference's website and social media platforms throughout the 2023-24 season, starting in September. The conference will also be using the #E825 and #E8Anniversary hashtags on its Twitter and Instagram platforms as a way for fans to follow along throughout the year.
ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE
The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit
www.empire8.com.
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