DePolito coach of the year; six Seahawks all-CCC
First-year head coach Jessica DePolito has been named the Commonwealth Coast Conference coach of the year for softball, sharing the honor with Mark Veilleux of Endicott College. In addition, six softball players were named to the all-league team: Nikki Bukovsky ’17, Jenna Edine ’14, Sara Nelson ’14, Kara O’Riley ’17, Nicole Parry ’16 and Lexi Soucie ’17.
“I am very proud of what the team has been able to accomplish thus far,” DePolito said. “As most of the team consists of first year players, both freshmen and sophomores, they have matured throughout the season and carry themselves as upperclassmen, which will be great for the future of the program.”
Bukovsky has been a fixture in the Seahawk lineup at designated player since a sweep of Western New England University April 12. She collected three hits apiece in wins over Curry College and Roger Williams University.
Edine leads the team in batting average (.393) and has the second-most runs scored (28) and runs batted in (26) of any Seahawk. Nelson is second on the team in hitting (.388) while ranking first in home runs (four) and slugging percentage (.533).
Parry completed 13 of her 14 starts, amassing 100 strikeouts with just 10 bases on balls in 90 innings pitched. She ranked 39th in the nation among NCAA Division III pitchers through games of April 20.
Soucie and O’Riley both played in all 34 games this season, leading the Seahawks in extra-base hits with 17 and 15, respectively. Soucie has 26 runs batted in and a team-high 30 runs scored, while O’Riley has two home runs on the season and a team-best 28 runs batted in.
DePolito boldly picked her team first in the coaches’ preseason poll, while her fellow coaches picked Salve Regina for sixth place. Working with an entirely new pitching staff and essentially a first-year catcher in Genevieve Benoit ’16, DePolito’s squad earned a share of the regular-season crown with Endicott.
