West Babylon, N.Y. – St. Thomas Aquinas standouts Abbie Landrum (Buena Park, Calif.) and Carissa Della Vecchia (Wappingers Falls, N.Y.), as well as Mercy rookie Cayla Crawford (Hemet, Calif.) earned top honors in the East Coast Conference Softball All-Conference awards announced on Friday afternoon. Landrum was named the league’s Player of the Year while her teammate, Della Vecchia, took home Pitcher of the Year accolades. Crawford was selected as the Rookie of the Year.
Landrum excelled both at the plate and in the circle for the Spartans. Offensively, she ranked in the top 10 in the league in batting average (.320 – 9th), slugging percentage (.474 – 8th), and doubles (9 – 7th). She also smacked two home runs and drove in 16 RBI. Landrum was even better in the circle. In 135.0 innings pitched over 23 appearances and 20 starts, Landrum compiled a 10-9 record to go with a stingy 1.97 earned run average and 102 strikeouts. Her innings pitched total led the conference, while her strikeout and ERA totals ranked in the top three.
Della Vecchia teamed with Landrum to form a dynamic duo in the circle for the Spartans. Della Vecchia has been nearly unhittable throughout the 2023 campaign. Heading into postseason play, she holds a 16-3 record with 18 complete games and seven shutouts over 22 appearances and 21 starts. In 133.0 innings, Della Vecchia also leads the ECC with a 1.37 ERA, 199 strikeouts, and a .206 batting average against. Her name can be found on the national leaderboard, as well, as Della Vecchia ranks fifth in all of Division II with 10.6 strikeouts per seven innings.
Crawford, a five-time ECC Rookie of the Week, was arguably the conference’s best hitter in her debut season. She led the ECC with a .456 batting average and a .515 on-base percentage during the regular season and ranked in the top five in the league with a .667 slugging percentage, 31 runs scored, 52 hits, five home runs, and 76 total bases. In addition, her batting average ranks 21st in all of Division II.
St. Thomas Aquinas’ Kristen Sullivan was named Coach of the Year by her peers for the second year in a row. Under Sullivan’s guidance, the Spartans earned a share of a second straight ECC Regular Season Championship with a 15-5 record in conference play.
2023 ECC Softball All-Conference
First Team
C - Hannah Bardeen, D'Youville
1B - Samantha Franck, Mercy
2B - Elyse Marcano, St. Thomas Aquinas
SS - Adriana Coira, St. Thomas Aquinas
SS - Victoria Seppala, Mercy
3B - Sydney Johnston, Mercy
OF - Alyssa Acosta, Staten Island
OF - Steph Conrade, Molloy
OF - Shannon Sisco, Mercy
DP - Chrissie Huhn, Molloy
UTL - Cayla Crawford, Mercy
UTL-P - Abbie Landrum, St. Thomas Aquinas
P - Carissa Della Vecchia, St. Thomas Aquinas
P - Allyson Dilday, Queens
Second Team
C - Cheralyn Dusharme, Molloy
C - Emilie Olivier, St. Thomas Aquinas
1B - Anissa Acosta, Staten Island
2B - Gianna Adamo, D'Youville
2B - Karsyn Eaton, Molloy
SS - Emily McGurk, Molloy
3B - Emma Zumpol, Queens
OF - Laura Beck, D'Youville
OF - Alex Burns, Molloy
OF - Eliana Raposo, St. Thomas Aquinas
UTL - Ann Grimshaw, Queens
UTL-P - Lauren Booth, D'Youville
UTL-P - Amanda King, Molloy
P - Brianna Macias, Molloy
P - Sarah Parzych, D'Youville
Player of the Year: Abbie Landrum, St. Thomas Aquinas
Pitcher of the Year: Carissa Della Vecchia, St. Thomas Aquinas
Rookie of the Year: Cayla Crawford, Mercy
Coach of the Year: Kristen Sullivan, St. Thomas Aquinas
