2014 Atlantic 10 Preview

Here are our projected standings:

1. Fordham
2. George Washington
3. UMass
4. St. Joseph's
5. St. Louis
6. Dayton
7. La Salle
8. St. Bonaventure
9. George Mason
10. Rhode Island

Atlantic 10 Player of the Year: Elise Fortier, Fordham
Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Year: Liz Mendez, St. Joseph's
Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year: Paige Kovalsky, George Washington
Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year: Stacey Schramm, George Washington

Atlantic 10 First Team
P Liz Mendez, St. Joseph's
P Brianna Lore, St. Louis
C Gabby Luety, Fordham
1B Tiffany Meeks, UMass
2B Sarah Yoos, St. Joseph's
3B Kayla Lombardo, Fordham
SS Elise Fortier, Fordham
OF Kendra Heyer, La Salle
OF Lindsay Friedman, St. Louis
OF Natalie Mariano, Dayton
UT Michele Daubman, Fordham
DP Paige Ortiz, Fordham

Worth noting: the A10 is extremely strong at the shortstop position and it is unfortunate that more players cannot be honored. Victoria Valos, Quianna Diaz-Patterson, Nicole Palase, Megan Hodgson, and Emily McDonough are some of the the conference's outstanding shortstops.

Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team
P Tara Klee, UMass
P Lauren Quense, Fordham
P/UT Paige Kovalsky, George Washington
C Ashton Wince, UMass
2B Megan Linn, George Washington
2B Whitney Cooper, UMass
SS Alex Nickel, St. Louis
OF Bella Picard, St. Joseph's
DP Jillian Galich, George Washington

2014 Preview: St. Joseph's

St. Joseph's

The Hawks come into 2014 as the defending regular season champions and the runners-up from the 2013 Atlantic 10 Tournament. The Hawks lost a number of key contributors from 2013, but some keys cogs are back and they will once again be a force in 2014. Coach Terri Adams is offsetting the big losses to graduation with an eight member freshman class and one junior transfer. The Hawks may take their lumps early on, but Coach Adams will have them right in the mix at the end.

Losses: Taryn Ashway, Monica Aguilar, Dana Parks, Rochelle Christman, Deanna Stinner, Juliette D'Ambrosio
Additions: Ashley Alden, Emily Rogers, Alex Dominici, Niki Carillo, Bella Picard, Alexis Bush, Alexia Faulkner, Maddie Brunck, Stephanie Chaiser

Liz Mendez

Pitching: The Hawks have lost 2013 Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Year Taryn Ashway, but with Liz Mendez back, St. Joseph's is in great shape. Mendez had a breakout weekend at the Atlantic 10 Tournament and frankly deserved Most Outstanding Player, despite the fact that the Hawks did not win it all. Mendez was lights out and if she can recapture that form, there will be no stopping the Hawks in 2014. Mendez went 11-6 with a 2.02 ERA and 114 SO in 124.2 IP. Mendez will need help, so Terri Adams will be looking for Emily Rogers, Niki Carillo, Anna Lauterbach, or Alex Dominici to step up and provide quality innings for the Hawks.

Nicole Palase

Offense: The Hawks dynamic duo up the middle of Sarah Yoos and Nicole Palase will lead the way in 2014. Yoos was the 2013 Rookie of the Year, hitting .375 with 45 hits, 3 HR, 33 RBI, and 2 steals. Palase hit .329 with 48 hits, 3 HR, 33 RBI and 7 steals. For St. Joseph's to be successful, Yoos and Palase will need to lead the way. Maria Ficca, Brandi Harkness, Morgan Earling, and Melissa Ruf will determine how far this team goes. If they can step up and improve their offensive numbers from last year, the Hawks will fly past the competition. Freshman Bella Picard is going to be one to watch for the Hawks and she will likely hold down a key spot in the St. Joseph's lineup.

Sarah Yoos

Defense: Palase anchors the defense at shortstop and she forms a great double play combo with Yoos at second base. Earling looked very sharp at third in Atlantic 10 Tournament, so she'll play an important role once again. Harkness split time at first last year, so she should figure into the mix over there once again. Ficca and Ruf also return in the outfield. The big question mark for 2014 is the catching position. St. Joseph's will need one of its young players to step up and be a wall behind the plate.

Overall Prognosis: The Hawks have a great shot of winning their first Atlantic 10 Championship in 2014, but that will only happen if multiple freshmen and returning players step up.

2013 Season in Review

While 2012 was the year of Sara Plourde and shutdown pitching, 2013 was the year of offense and balance.  The six team conference tournament field was not decided until the final weekend, as both the top four seeds and bottom two spots were up for grabs.

St. Joseph's was the top team in the regular season, as the Hawks won their first ever regular season title. Fordham finished second for the second straight season. Temple had one of its better season's finishing third and George Washington had its best regular season ever by finishing fourth. St. Louis returned to the A10 tournament after missing the previous two, while Dayton returned after a one year absence. 

The 2013 Atlantic 10 Championship was without a couple of familiar faces as UMass and Charlotte both missed the A10 Tournament for the first time ever. Butler came up just short in its bid as rain did in its and Charlotte's chances.

While the pitching records is the A10 remained untouched and unthreatened, the offensive records were demolished for the most part. New single season bests were recorded for HR (Elise Fortier with 20), RBI (Steph Pasquale with 80), and Runs (Sarah Prezioso with 65). Jamie LaBovick also had an amazing 28 game hitting streak for Fordham. Temple also left the A10 with a blast as they hit 94 HR in their Atlantic 10 swan song. The conference as a whole saw increased numbers across the board in Batting Average, Runs, Hits, Doubles, Triples, Home Runs, Steals, as well as virtually every other offensive category.

Steph Pasquale (Thom Kendall)

Steph Pasquale of Temple had one of the greatest seasons in A10 history and was the slam dunk choice for Player of the Year. She hit a staggering .465 with 87 Hits, 15 HR, and 80 RBI, but the stat that truly indicates how tough of an out she was her 3 SO in 187 AB. Pasquale knows the zone better than just about anyone out there and she got in her hacks every time she stepped in to the batter's box. A10 pitchers are breathing a sigh of relief that she will be moving on to the American to terrorize pitchers.

With the graduations of Sara Plourde, Jen Mineau, and Erin Gallagher it was expected that pitching numbers would be down, but few expected them to plummet as much as they did. In fact, the only major pitching statistic that was an improvement from 2012 was saves. It will be interesting to see whether 2014 will see a return of the 2012 numbers or the beginning of a trend favoring hitters.

Taryn Ashway (Thom Kendall)

There was one shining star in the circle during the regular season and it was Taryn Ashway of St. Joseph's. Ashway closed her career out in style, as she went 25-4 with a 1.88 ERA and 181 SO in 204.2 IP. She played a central role in leading the Hawks to their first ever Atlantic 10 Regular Season Title.

Sarah Yoos (Thom Kendall)

Another big part of St. Joseph's regular season title was freshman Sarah Yoos. Yoos was the hands down choice for Rookie of the Year. She burst on to the scene with a .367 BA, 44 Hits, 3 HR, and 33 RBI. However, the best stat to characterize her impact was her .519 OBP, which led the conference. Yoos did it all for the Hawks in 2013 and she will be a big part of their success moving forward.

Patti Maloney (Thom Kendall)

The Atlantic 10 Tournament was all about taking care of business and that's exactly what Fordham did as soon as they stepped on to the field. After being denied the title in 2010 in Amherst, it was clear that they were not going to let that happen again. The Rams relied on a solid trio of pitching in the circle with Michele Daubman, Jamie LaBovick, and Patti Maloney and a powerful lineup that produced hits and runs 1-9. Paige Ortiz came away with the Most Outstanding Player award (and was the top offensive force after having a great week), but it was really the entire team that stepped up their efforts en route to the title.

Paige Ortiz (Thom Kendall)

After winning in Amherst, Fordham has the misfortune of being sent to Norman, Oklahoma to a brutal regional. The Rams performed well against Arkansas, but came up just short in two games. Fordham ensured its Empire State supremacy by taking down Marist as well.

Fordham's Seniors (Thom Kendall)

The Rams were just able to fend off St. Joseph's, which refused to go away after dropping the winner's bracket final against Fordham. St. Joseph's scrapped and clawed their way to Sunday and even forced the winner-take-all game. Liz Mendez was absolutely spectacular for St. Joseph's and if the conference would award MOP to a player from a losing team (note Kristin Schmidt of LSU won WCWS MOP after finishing 3rd), Mendez would win it hands down. She went 3-1 and allowed just 4 ER on 20 hits in 24.1 innings, while striking out 20. She made a name for herself at the A10 Tournament, which makes the snub of her from the Second Team All-Conference and the All-Rookie that more glaring of an omission. She enters the summer as the clear favorite for 2014 Pitcher of the Year.

Liz Mendez (Thom Kendall)

The breakout star of the tournament may have been Liz Mendez, but Brianna Lore came in a close second. The lefty was outstanding in Amherst and she came very close to getting the Billikens to Sunday. Lore has an incredibly bright future and she will be one to watch next year.

In the past nine years, only UMass and Fordham have won the Atlantic 10 Tournament, so it will be interesting to see if one of them can win it again in 2014. It is important to peak during the postseason and the Rams did just that this year.

To wrap up the season further and look towards next year, here are some of the posts we have coming up
Why transfer to the A10?
Taking the conference tournament to the next level
Parting is such sweet sorrow: saying goodbye to Temple, Charlotte, and Butler

We welcome feedback any other news whether it be recruiting/scheduling/transfer/thoughts on the conference tournament or anything else. Please email us at atlantic10softball@gmail.com

Atlantic 10 Tournament: Day 2

Due to impending rain again, the game schedule has been moved up by 2 hours once again.

Liz Mendez (Photo by Thom Kendall)

Game 4:
St. Joseph's 4 St. Louis 3
WP-Liz Mendez (9-5)
LP-Laney Kneib (13-8)

St. Louis jumped out to a early 3-0 lead over St. Joseph's, behind RBI hits from Lindsay Friedman and Laura Bohning. The Billikens chased Taryn Ashway and Terri Adams turned to freshman Liz Mendez who completely changed the course of the game. Mendez was outstanding in relief as she went 4.1 shutout innings in relief and allowed just 2 hits while striking out 7. The momentum completely turned when Mendez went in and the Hawks offense was finally able to break through. The Hawks loaded up the bases against Brianna Lore with 0 outs, which prompted Coach Christy Connoyer to turn to Laney Kneib. The Hawks scored one in the 3rd, before scoring 3 in the 4th, as Connoyer was forced to bring Lore back in to quell the damage. Maria Ficca had a big home run to leadoff the 4th and Nicole Palase and Monica Aguilar followed with a RBI triple and single respectively to put the Hawks ahead.

Fordham after Paige Ortiz' HR (Photo by Thom Kendall)

Game 5:
Fordham 8 Temple 2
WP-Michele Daubman (17-7)
LP-Kelsey Dominik (15-7)

The battle of the big bats was a decidedly one-sided affair as Michele Daubman was on her game and held Temple to just a solo HR by Sarah Prezioso and a RBI single by Steph Pasquale. It was an impressive feat for Daubman, as Temple is the leading run scoring team in the A10 and the second best home run hitting team nationally. Conversely, Fordham went to work early as they scored 5 runs in the second inning off of a RBI single by Bri Turgeon and a grand slam by Paige Ortiz. Fordham added two more runs in the 4th as Ortiz came through with a RBI single and Jamie LaBovick hit a sac fly. The Rams closed out their scoring on a RBI groundout by Chelsea Palumbo.

Laura Bohning (Photo by Thom Kendall)

Game 6:
St. Louis 8 George Washington 3
WP-Laney Kneib
LP-Courtney Martin

The Billikens came to play in Amherst and they stuck to George Washington early and often. St. Louis jumped on Colonial starter Courtney Martin and touched her up for four runs before doing the same thing to reliever Meghan Rico. Eight of the nine Billiken starters recorded hits and Jessica Van Nostrand, Aly Brand, and Elizabeth Everingham combined to drive in seven run. Laney Kneib started and went four innings for St. Louis and allowed three run before Brianna Lore came in and shut the door for the final three innings. St. Louis has come to play this week and they will come to play vs. Temple tomorrow.

Official Atlantic 10 All-Conference Selections: Do Better

Here are the official Atlantic 10 All-Conference Selections:

We are going to give our take on them. First, the coaches and SIDs nailed Player, Pitcher, Rookie, and Coach of the Year, though to be frank each was a slam dunk winner.

Tori Valos

The big issues lie with the Atlantic 10's formatting for the teams, as they are insistent on only one player from each position. The shortstops in the Atlantic 10 were particularly strong this season and in the conference only stats (the Atlantic 10 only publishes the top 15 hitters, which is another head scratcher) there were 5 SS among the top 15 hitters, unfortunately only 2 of those shortstops got honored. The other three received nothing despite having a top 15 BA in both conference and non-conference play. Tori Valos of George Washington only hit .358 with 11 HR and 51 RBI (a total which is 3rd in the conference), Natalie Capone hit .364 for Charlotte, and Quianna Diaz-Patterson hit .357 for UMass. If the conference wants to honor the best players, which it attempts to do on the All-Rookie Team, it should select them regardless of position. In no circumstances should there ever be a situation where a .358 hitter with 11 HR and 51 RBI isn't honored especially after watching her play. Valos is not only a stud on offense, but also defense, which apparent isn't factored into consideration.

The All-Conference Teams also struck out on hitting pitchers, as Michele Daubman of Fordham and Kelsey Dominik of Temple put up solid seasons in the circle and at the plate. Both Daubman and Dominik picked up double digit win totals and hit over .300 at the plate, yet neither was honored on the All-Conference Team. Clearly, these hitting pitchers had no spot allocated for them on the All-Conference Team, which is plain wrong. These players should not be punished for having more than one position and frankly they should be rewarded for their utility. Both Dominik and Daubman saw action at four different positions, which is incredible. The NFCA has a utility spot on its All-American honors, yet the A10 doesn't.

As egregious as the other omissions were, this one was perhaps even worse: Emily McDonough did not receive All-Rookie honors despite hitting over .300 in both conference and overall while stealing 23 bases. If McDonough played for any team other than St. Bonaventure she would have been a slam dunk. The All-Rookie Team is not constrained by positions and is supposed to honor the top newcomers regardless of position, hence the 6 pitchers. McDonough hit .330 with 29 runs scored and 23 steals, while also being a solid defensive presence out there. On the surface, it appears that some coaches and SIDs did not even think there would be a player worthy of All-Conference honors at St. Bonaventure and did not even take a look at the stats. A word of advice, take a look at the players from every team, not just the top ones.

Chelsea Ingersoll also found herself snubbed despite hitting .353 overall and .388 in conference play. Call it what you want, but she was robbed just like some of the other players on this list. Ingersoll will get kudos from us for hitting .353 with 10 HR and 31 RBI and .388 with 6 HR and 19 RBI in conference play.

Unfortunately the list doesn't end there. Liz Mendez played an integral part in St. Joseph's success this season, as she has performed well all year in the circle. She had a top ERA both in conference play and overall, yet she is not honored. Mendez had the 6th best ERA overall, as she went 9-5 with a 2.65 ERA and 99 SO in 103 innings pitched. In conference play she was 5-3 with a 2.44 ERA and 44 SO in 51.1 IP. These figures should have easily put Mendez on the All-Rookie Team.

So here it is the All-Snub Team, which in case you haven't noticed doesn't have a single senior. Clearly, seniority is a factor that coaches consider when making these decisions.

P Liz Mendez, St. Joseph's                 9-5  2.65 ERA  99 SO   103 IP
P Michele Daubman, Fordham          16-7 3.55 ERA 102 SO  160 IP
                                                               .341 BA 46 Hits 6 HR   30 RBI
P Kelsey Dominik, Temple               14-6 3.94 ERA   59 SO 124.1 IP
                                                              .300 BA 45 Hits  14 HR 35 RBI
C Chelsea Ingersoll, Charlotte                 .353 BA 49 Hits 10 HR 31 RBI
C Kasi Vasquez, Dayton                        .386 BA 22 Hits    4 HR 18 RBI**
SS Tori Valos, George Washington        .358 BA 53 Hits  11 HR 51 RBI 5 SB
SS Quianna Diaz-Patterson, UMass       .357 BA 46 Hits    3 HR 23 RBI 8 SB
SS Natalie Capone, Charlotte                .364 BA 56 Hits    0 HR 15 RBI 10 SB
SS Emily McDonough, St. Bonaventure .330 BA 58 Hits     0 HR  8 RBI 23 SB
3B Devynne Nelons, Temple                 .328 BA 20 Hits   11 HR 18 RBI**
3B Grace Rooney, St. Bonaventure       .368 BA 46 Hits     0 HR 12 RBI 4 SB
OF Jessica Plemmons, Charlotte           .350 BA 49 Hits 14 2B 2 HR 31 RBI
                                                            .404 BA 21 Hits     2 HR  14 RBI**
**Conference only stats

Final note: to those still playing use it as motivation and to those who are done for the season use it as motivation every day in the offseason.

Hawks snag two more pitchers!

Niki Carillo

Terri Adams found two more pitchers for St. Joseph's as Niki Carillo recently signed her NLI to play for the Hawks and Madison Clarke verbally committed to play for St. Joe's.

Madison Clarke

Carillo is a 6'1" pitcher from the NJ Pride with tremendous upside. Carillo recently tore her ACL, so she is working her way back from that, but she could be a good one for the Hawks. Carillo already has a strong drop, which should only be further amplified under Coach Adams. Carillo's long levers and imposing presence will make her an outstanding addition to the Hawks.
In perhaps the biggest steal of 2014 recruiting, Adams was able to snag a verbal commitment from Madison Clarke of Edmonton, Alberta. Clarke has good height at 5'10" and is growing into a better pitcher every day. Clarke can put some speed on the ball, as she is consistently in the 62-64 range and has hit 66. Clarke has the tools to get those speeds even higher and she could be a real force to be reckoned with. Big kudos to St. Joe's for going outside its normal recruiting zone to snag Clarke. The last Canadian pitcher in the A10 only won Pitcher of the Year two times and pitched for the Canadian national team at the Athens Olympics.

Terri Adams is known for developing pitchers and this season is no exception, as Taryn Ashway has soared to new heights. Ashway is currently 23-2 with a 1.55 ERA and 149 SO in 157.2 IP, which is one of the best seasons for a Hawk pitcher ever. Her development from her freshman season to her senior season is outstanding. Adams knows pitchers and before Ashway, she helped Dani Gonzales and Erin Gallagher make incredible improvements.

Ashway may be graduating, but the Hawks should be set in the circle with plenty of talent over the next few years. Liz Mendez and Anna Lauterbach will both be back next year and the Hawks will add two new pitchers in addition to Carillo. Emily Rogers has been a stud for Cal Lite the past few summers and she will provide a commanding presence right away for the Hawks. Alex Dominici is a talented infielder and pitcher from the NJ Cheetahs. Dominici could see some time in the circle, but she will likely challenge for a starting spot in the infield right away.

Cyndi Wilson commits to St. Joseph's

Cyndi Wilson a 2012 infielder for the New Jersey Inferno has committed to St. Joseph's.

Wilson is the latest member of Coach Terri Adams' talented 2012 recruiting class, which also includes Anna Lauterbach, Sarah Yoos, Brandi Harkness, Liz Mendez, Christina Gonzalez, and Jacqueline Gheraldi. This recruiting class is poised to make a huge impact for the Hawks and this class could define the program moving forward.

Wilson comes from the excellent Inferno travel program, which has been nice to the A10 over the years, including Taylor Pirone, Sam Pellechio, and the late Nicole Ayres to Fordham, Jen Hrycyna and Amanda Holst to George Washington, Mary Pat Conville to La Salle, and teammate Christina Gonzalez who has also committed to St. Joseph's.

Wilson will be a valuable member of the Hawks, due to her versatility. She is able to play most infield position, though she will likely end up at one of the corner positions for the Hawks.

Jacqueline Gheraldi has committed to St. Joseph's

Jacqueline Gheraldi of the New Jersey Intensity has committed to St. Joseph's and Coach Terri Adams. Gheraldi is a 2012 infielder for Kevin O'Donnell's squad.

Gheraldi has the ability to play either corner infield position or catcher. She will provide good depth for the Hawks and she has a great shot of cracking the lineup in a number of positions. She is the latest member of an impressive looking 2012 recruiting class, including Anna Lauterbach, Sarah Yoos, Brandi Harkness, Liz Mendez, and Christina Gonzalez. This class will be asked to replace arguably the most successful class in St. Joe's history: Bernadette Moran, Alaina Loguidice, Monica Aguilar, Erin Gallagher, and Lauren Pempleton.

Past Intensity players that have gone on to the A10 include Alex Stermel at Temple and McKinley Tretler at George Washington. Gheraldi also comes from an impressive Red Bank Catholic High School program. Red Bank has done an incredible job at producing D1 softball players, including Kaitlyn O'Donnell, Kristen Berger, Kristen Travers, and Samantha Bowlsbey.

Christina Gonzalez signs with St. Joseph's

Occasionally, this blog misses the occasional signee, but we just caught this one in time for Christmas.

Christina Gonzalez IF of the NJ Inferno has signed with St. Joseph's. She joins an impressive Hawks recruiting class for 2012, which also includes Anna Lauterbach, Brandi Harkness, Liz Mendez, and Sarah Yoos. Coach Terri Adams has done a stellar job with this recruiting class.

The New Jersey Inferno is one of the top travel programs in the Northeast and it has been very kind to the Atlantic 10 over the years. Past Inferno players that have gone on to the Atlantic 10 include Taylor Pirone, Sam Pellechio, and the late Nicole Ayres to Fordham, Jen Hrycyna and Amanda Holst to George Washington, and Mary Pat Conville to La Salle.

Gonzalez should make an immediate impact for the Hawks with her stellar defense and her strong bat at the plate. Coach Adams scored a good one for St. Joe's.

Liz Mendez verbals to St. Joseph's

Liz Mendez

Coach Terri Adams picked up another verbal for her 2012 recruiting class in Liz Mendez. Mendez is a pitcher for the West Windsor Wildcats travel team and West Windsor Plainsboro South High School.

Mendez is a talented pitcher that will definitely make an impact for the Hawks in the circle. She led her county to the title at the Carpenter Cup this summer after coming all the way through the loser's bracket. Mendez is also a talented hitter and she could also see some significant action at the plate for St. Joseph's.

Mendez is the second pitcher in the Hawks' 2012 recruiting class joining Anna Lauterbach, the position players in St. Joseph's class are Sarah Yoos and Brandi Harkness. This is already a talented class and one that may grow even more in the coming weeks.