EDISON, N.J. – Marist College senior infielder Melissa Giordano has been selected as the MAAC Softball Player of the Year, headlining the 2009 All-MAAC Softball Teams chosen by the league’s nine head coaches.
Giordano led the conference with a .429 batting average. She was also first in the MAAC in on-base percentage (.491), hits (66), runs (42), and doubles (19). Giordano slugged eight home runs, third best in the league, and had 21 RBIs.
Fairfield University sophomore right-hander Sarah Minice was named the 2009 MAAC Pitcher of the Year. Minice posted a league high 18 wins and was third in both earned run average (2.44) and strikeouts (149). She threw five complete game shutouts. Minice was selected as Pitcher of the Week on two separate occasions.
Iona College right-hander Sarah Jackson and Marist catcher Nicole DiVirgilio were voted as the 2009 Co-Rookies of the Year. Jackson led the league in earned run average (1.62) and was fourth with 138 strikeouts. She was named Pitcher of the Week twice this season. DiVirgilio finished third on the Red Foxes with a .286 batting average and drove in 14 runs.
Manhattan head coach Meaghan Asselta was named the MAAC Coach of the Year after leading the Jaspers to an 11-5 league mark and a share of the MAAC Regular Season Championship for the first time in program history. Manhattan will enter the MAAC Championship as the second seed. It is the first time the Jaspers have qualified for the tournament since 2005.
The All-MAAC First Team includes Fairfield’s Minice, Kristina Lingo, Kayla Marth, and Kristin Trifolis, Manhattan’s Melissa Donnelly, Ashley Rampino, and Kristina Walraven, Marist’s Giordano, Jessica Green, and Caitlin Carpentier, and Niagara’s Felicia Coffey and Teresa Healy.
By: MAAC Sports
