Newark, Del. - New York Institute of Technology senior Kat Zabielski and Post University senior Samantha Esque headline the 2016 Division II Conference Commissioner Association (CCA) All-East Region Teams as they were named the Player and Pitcher of the year, respectively, by a vote of the region’s sports information directors.
Zabielski (Farmingdale, N.Y.) led the Bears to a 36-13 overall record and the East Coast Conference Regular Season Championship with a 24-4 conference mark. The senior led the ECC and ranks fourth in NCAA Division II with 20 home runs on the year. She also ranks third in the nation with 73 RBI and fifth overall with a .919 slugging percentage while also leading the ECC with 56 runs scored and 23 walks. Zabielski finished third in the ECC with a .405 batting average while also ranking second in the conference with a .497 on-base percentage. She was named the 2016 ECC Player of the Year, First Team NFCA All-East Region, and a Schutt Sports/NFCA Top-10 Finalist for the National Player of the Year award.
Esque (Springfield, Pa.) led the Eagles to a 25-23 overall record and an 18-8 mark in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference regular season, earning the fifth seed in the CACC Tournament. The senior was seven strikeouts away from producing the Pitching Triple Crown in the CACC, leading the way with 19 wins, a 1.31 ERA, and finishing second with 157 strikeouts. Her 10 shutouts rank fourth in NCAA Division II while her 0.62 walks allowed per seven innings is sixth overall. Esque went 19-9 overall to along with two saves in 191.2 innings pitched, while only allowing batters to hit .204 against her. She earned CACC Pitcher of the Year accolades for the second straight year while also earning a spot on the NFCA All-East Region First Team.
Joining Zabielski (1B) and Esque (P) on the First Team is Adelphi’s Nicole Camera (2B), and Brenna Martini (3B), Caldwell’s Marisa Monasseri (C), Amy Hickman (OF), and Amber Padilla (P), Le Moyne’s Courtney Case (SS), LIU Post’s Hannah Olshevski (P), Molloy’s Milan Botte (DP), and Tracey Balinskas (Util-Pitcher), NYIT’s Christina Pantages (OF), and Amber Butenhoff (Util Non-Pitcher), and Southern New Hampshire’s Maureen Hannan (OF).
Earning a spot on the D2CCA All-Eat Region Second Team is Adelphi’s Krista King (OF), Assumption’s Ashley Abad (2B), Bloomfield’s Kirsten Wilson (Util-Pitcher), Caldwell’s Caitlin McCready (OF), and Brielle Reighn (Util Non-Pitcher), Franklin Pierce’s Erin Wood (3B), LIU Post’s Ashley Martin (P), and Julia Seader (C), New Haven’s Jen Palase (OF), NYIT’s Laura McLaughlin (P), Pace’s Ashley Lew (SS), and Surina Sandhu (DP), Southern New Hampshire’s Sarah Lavallee (P), and Wilmington’s Colby Wyatt (1B).
The First Team honorees are automatically nominated for the D2CCA All-American voting process. The 2016 D2CCA Softball All-American Team will be announced on Tuesday, May 17.
2016 Division II CCA Softball All-East Region Teams
First Team
C – Marisa Monasseri, Caldwell University
1B – Kat Zabielski, NYIT
2B – Nicole Camera, Adelphi University
3B – Brenna Martini, Adelphi University
SS – Courtney Case, Le Moyne College
OF – Christina Pantages, NYIT
OF – Amy Hickman, Caldwell University
OF – Maureen Hannan, Southern New Hampshire University
DP – Milan Botte, Molloy College
P – Samantha Esque, Post University
P – Hannah Olshevski, LIU Post
P – Amber Padilla, Caldwell University
Util (Non-Pitcher) – Amber Butenhoff, NYIT
Util (Pitcher) – Tracey Balinskas, Molloy College
Second Team
C – Julia Seader, LIU Post
1B – Colby Wyatt, Wilmington University
2B – Ashley Abad, Assumption College
3B – Erin Wood, Franklin Pierce University
SS – Ashley Lew, Pace University
OF – Jen Palase, University of New Haven
OF – Krista King, Adelphi University
OF – Caitlin McCready, Caldwell University
DP – Surina Sandhu, Pace University
P – Sarah Lavallee, Southern New Hampshire University
P – Laura McLaughlin, NYIT
P – Ashley Martin, LIU Post
Util (Non-Pitcher) – Brielle Reighn, Caldwell University
Util (Pitcher) – Kirsten Wilson, Bloomfield College
2016 D2CCA Softball East Region Player of the Year: Kat Zabielski, NYIT
2016 D2CCA Softball East Region Pitcher of the Year: Samantha Esque, Post University
Release provided by Dan Lauletta, East Region Coordinator and Coordinator of Sports Information, Wilmington University.
