St. Thomas Aquinas College Softball players Carissa Della Vecchia, Melissa Sadler, Amanda Castro and Paige Toothaker were each named as ECC All-Conference selections on Monday afternoon. Della Vecchia and Sadler received First Team honors, while Castro and Toothaker each garnered Second Team accolades in a vote of the conference's coaches.
The annual awards, which were announced on Monday afternoon, also recognized Bridgeport’s Kaira Ramon as the conference’s Player of the Year and teammate Kaite Burawski as the Pitcher of the Year. Molloy’s Chrissie Huhn won the Rookie of the Year award. Head coaches Dawn Sterns of Bridgeport and Susan Cassidy-Lyke of Molloy shared the Coach of the Year citation.
The four Spartans have helped their team record one of the best seasons in the 41-year history of the program. STAC finished the regular season with a 22-10 record and won its semifinal playoff round series, 2-1, against Molloy College to earn its first-ever berth in the ECC championship series. Third-seeded STAC will meet top-seeded Bridgeport in a best-of-three series that begins on Friday. Della Vecchia and Toothaker were named to the team as pitchers while Sadler was recognized as an outfielder and Castro at second base.
“I’m very excited that the other ECC coaches recognized the outstanding play this season by Missy, Carissa, Paige and Amanda,” said STAC Head Coach Kristen Sullivan. “Our success has been the product of a great team effort but these four young woman played at a high level on a very consistent basis.”
Della Vecchia, a junior, led the pitching staff with a tremendous season by every measure. She posted an earned run average of 1.77 with 160 strikeouts in 103 innings en route to a stellar 14-6 record. She threw seven shutouts and was named the ECC Pitcher of the Week on two occasions. Teammate Toothaker gave STAC the best one-two pitching duo in the ECC. She recorded a 9-5 record with a 1.93 earned run average and also earned ECC Pitcher of the Week honors.
Sadler, a fifth-year senior, excelled offensively and defensively for STAC. She led the team in runs scored (33), RBI (23) and stolen bases (10), while sharing the lead in hits (38) and doubles (8). A gifted athlete, Sadler used her speed and athleticism to play terrific defense in center field throughout the season. Castro, a junior, led the team with a .384 batting average and a startling .492 on-base percentage. She also led the team in walks (19) and shared the team lead in hits with Sadler.
2021 ECC Softball All-Conference
First Team
C ‐ Alexis Crawford, Mercy
1B ‐ Mikaela Tribby, Molloy
2B ‐ Maddy Pepke, DʹYouville
SS ‐ Danielle Burgos, Mercy
3B ‐ Samantha MacPherson, Staten Island
OF ‐ Emma Bachman, Molloy
OF ‐ Kaira Ramon, Bridgeport
OF ‐ Melissa Sadler, St. Thomas Aquinas
DP ‐ Sydney Johnston, Mercy
UTL ‐ Chrissie Huhn, Molloy
UTL‐P ‐ Courtney Greene, Molloy
P ‐ Kaite Burawski, Bridgeport
P ‐ Carissa Della Vecchia, St. Thomas Aquinas
Second Team
C ‐ Taylor Yates, Bridgeport
1B ‐ Samantha Franck, Mercy
1B ‐ Ava Miller, DʹYouville
2B ‐ Amanda Castro, St. Thomas Aquinas
2B ‐ Hannah Mueller, Mercy
SS ‐ Karsyn Eaton, Molloy
3B ‐ Ylannah Bowman, Mercy
OF ‐ Meg McFarland, Bridgeport
OF ‐ Mikaela Milleville, DʹYouville
OF ‐ Grace Rende, Molloy
UTL ‐ Rachel Colan, DʹYouville
P ‐ Emily Koerick, Staten Island
P ‐ Katelyn Shephard, Mercy
P ‐ Paige Toothaker, St. Thomas Aquinas
Player of the Year: Kaira Ramon, Sr., OF, Bridgeport
Pitcher of the Year: Kaite Burawski, So., Bridgeport
Rookie of the Year: Chrissie Huhn, Fr., UTL, Molloy
Co‐Coach of the Year: Dawn Stearns, Bridgeport
Co‐Coach of the Year: Susan Cassidy‐Lyke, Molloy