ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
New York, NY – Junior Corine Fitzgibbons of NYU-Poly has been named the 2012 Skyline Conference Softball Player of the Year in a vote of the league’s eight head coaches. In addition, the coaches selected Miranda Merilli of NYU-Poly as Pitcher of the Year and Kristen Beikirch of Sage as Rookie of the Year. NYU-Poly’s Jimmy Barrett and Sage’s Jamie Brown share the Coach of the Year honors. The Team Sportsmanship Award was garnered by Old Westbury.
Fitzgibbons, a slugging first baseman from Brooklyn, NY, enjoyed a stellar regular season, leading the Lady Jays to a 13-1 league mark and regular season Skyline title. The repeat winner of the Player of the Year finished the regular season with a .504 average with 13 home runs (2nd in the NCAA), a .991 slugging pct. (also 2nd nationally), 51 RBI’s, and 40 runs scored. Her batting average and RBI totals also put her in the top 25 in Division III.
Merilli, a junior from Altoona, PA, compiled a brilliant 14-6 mark in the regular season, with a measly 1.36 ERA. Among her gems were two no-hitters and six shutouts, and in 134.1 innings, she struck out 114 and walked only 26. Beikirch, a freshman second baseman from Brockport, NY, had a superb regular season, leading Sage to a 9-5 mark and second-place finish. She immediately was put in the middle of the order, and came through with a .462 average with 6 HR’s and 27 RBI’s, while scoring 35 runs and stealing 14 of 16 bases.
Barrett, who has led NYU-Poly to a 27-11 record in addition to the conference regular season title, is in his 11th season at the helm of the Fighting Blue Jays. A consistent winner, he has an overall mark of 150-117.
Brown, in her first year at Sage, has brought plenty of excitement to the Gator program, as they have amassed a school record 26 wins against only 11 losses. She has also been a successful head mentor at Skidmore, East Stroudsburg, and Chico State.
In addition to Fitzgibbons and Merilli, there are five other NYU-Poly players on the 2012 All-Conference First Team – catcher Christi Bruin, shortstop Shelby Bruns, outfielder Sadie Hoeschen, designated player
Megan Moran, and utility player Briana Feist. The other members of the team are Sage’s Beikirch, Rachel Smith (OF), and Kelsey Newberg (UTIL); P Alyssa Clancy of Old Westbury, 1B Chelsea Hepburn of Mount Saint Mary, 3B Kristen Flint of Farmingdale State, and OF Julianne Tierney of St. Joseph’s-L.I.
The All-Skyline Second Team is composed of Farmingdale State’s Aubrey Walker (1B), Jennifer Jarczynski (2B), Michelle Mongiello (OF), and Rebecca Richman (OF); Old Westbury’s Clancy, who doubles as DP, Samantha Siegler (C), and Jennifer Jean (OF); Mount Saint Mary P Caitlin Maynes, St. Joseph’s – L.I. 2B Julia De Carmine, and Sage SS Hillary Faas.
2012 SKYLINE SOFTBALL ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
FIRST TEAM
Miranda Merilli#, NYU-Poly - Jr., P - Altoona, PA
Alyssa Clancy, Old Westbury - Jr., P - Remsenberg, NY
Christi Bruin, NYU-Poly - So., C - Auburn, WA
Corine Fitzgibbons*, NYU-Poly - Jr., 1B - Brooklyn, NY
Chelsea Hepburn, Mount Saint Mary - So., 1B - New York, NY
Kristen Beikirch, Sage - Fr., 2B - Brockport, NY
Shelby Bruns, NYU-Poly - Jr., SS - Elko, NV
Kristen Flint, Farmingdale State - Jr., 3B - Brentwood, NY
Sadie Hoeschen, NYU-Poly - So., OF - Huntington Beach, CA
Rachel Smith, Sage - Sr., OF - Cohoes, NY
Julianne Tierney, St. Joseph’s–L.I. - Fr., OF - Bethpage, NY
Megan Moran, NYU-Poly - So., DP - Reno, NV
Briana Feist, NYU-Poly - So., UTIL - San Diego, CA
Kelsey Newberg, Sage - Jr, UTIL - New Britain, CT
SECOND TEAM
Caitlin Maynes, Mount Saint Mary - Jr., P - Miller Place, NY
Samantha Siegler, Old Westbury - Sr., C - Belllmore, NY
Aubrey Walker, Farmingdale State - Sr.,. 1B - West Babylon, NY
Julia De Carmine, St. Joseph’s-L.I. - Jr., 2B - Holtsville, NY
Jennifer Jarczynski, Farmingdale State - Jr., 2B - West Babylon, NY
Hillary Faas, Sage - So., SS - East Greenbush, NY
Jennifer Jean, Old Westbury - So., OF - Levittown, NY
Michelle Mongiello, Farmingdale State - Fr., OF - Elmont, NY
Rebecca Richman, Farmingdale State - Sr., OF - West Islip, NY
Alyssa Clancy, Old Westbury - Jr., DP - Remsenberg, NY
*PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Corine Fitzgibbons, NYU-Poly
#PITCHER OF THE YEAR: Miranda Merilli, NYU-Poly
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Kristen Beikirch, Sage
CO-COACHES OF THE YEAR: Jimmy Barrett, NYU-Poly & Jamie Brown, Sage
TOURNAMENT MVP: Taylor Tedeschi, Farmingdale State
TEAM SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD: Old Westbury