Posted: Apr 26, 2014

DePolito coach of the year; six Seahawks All-CCC

Clockwise (top to bottom): first team all-CCC pitcher Nicole Parry, second team all-CCC second base Jenna Edine, first team outfield Sara Nelson, honorable mention outfield Lexi Soucie, CCC Coach of the Year Jessica DePolito, honorable mention third base Kara O'Riley, and second team designated player Nikki Bukovsky.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - First-year Salve Regina softball head coach Jessica DePolito has been recognized by her peers as the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Coach of the Year, sharing the honor with 20-year head coach Mark Veilleux of Endicott College. The two schools tied for first place in the league's regular-season standings, with the Gulls earning the number one seed on its sweep of fourth-place University of New England.

The conference announced the all-league softball team Saturday and six Salve Regina University players were voted to the squad - seniors Jenna Edine (Warwick, R.I.) and Sara Nelson (Bristol, Conn.), sophomore Nicole Parry (Quincy, Mass.), freshmen Nikki Bukovsky (Westport, Conn.), Kara O'Riley (Acton, Mass.), and Lexi Soucie (No. Easton, Mass.). Nelson and Parry were named to the first team at outfield and pitcher, respectively; Bukovsky and Edine were second team selections at designated player and second base, respectively; while O'Riley and Soucie made the honorable mention squad at third base and outfield, respectively.

"I am very proud of what the team has been able to accomplish thus far," said DePolito, whose second-seeded squad will host a pair of CCC double-elimination games at Toppa Field on Tuesday. "They have improved tremendously since spring training. As most of the team consists of first year players, both freshmen and sophomores, they have matured throughout the season and carry themselves as upperclassmen which will be great for the future of the program."

Edine and Nelson, the veterans on the squad along with classmate Marissa Simpson (Brimfield, Mass.), captained the Seahawks to a 19-15 overall record (14-4 in CCC). Edine leads the team in batting average (.393) and has the second-most runs scored (28) and runs batted in (26) of any Seahawk. Nelson is second on the team in hitting (.388) while ranking first in homeruns (four) and slugging percentage (.533).

"I am so happy to see both Sara and Jenna be recognized as they have been great leaders for us the entire season. They have both worked very hard this year to improve their game which is evident in the kind of season they both have had."

DePolito boldly picked her team first in the coaches' pre-season poll and, despite the solitary vote of confidence, her fellow coaches picked Salve Regina for sixth place. Working with an entirely new pitching staff (primary starters Dominique Burnham, Kelsey Boarman, and Parry saw little or no action in 2013) and essentially a first-year catcher in Genevieve Benoit, DePolito's squad earned a share of the regular-season crown with the Gulls.

Parry, who twice was named the CCC Pitcher of the Week (March 31, April 14), has completed 13 of her 14 starts amassing 100 strikeouts with just 10 bases on balls in 90 innings pitched. Her 1.63 earned run average ranks fifth in the league among qualifying pitchers and includes four shutouts. Her 7.78 strikeouts per game tops all pitchers in the Commonwealth Coast Conference, and she ranked 39th in the nation among NCAA Division III pitchers through games of April 20.

"Nicole is most deserving of this award as she has proven to be among the league's most dominant pitchers. This is a tremendous achievement for her as this this her first year pitching at the collegiate level. I hold very high standards for what I expect from her every day and I look forward to what she will continue to bring to the program for several years."

Soucie and O'Riley have both played in all 34 games this season, leading the Seahawks in extra basehits with 17 and 15, respectively. Soucie launched the first home run of 2014 for Salve Regina, a second-inning grand slam during an 11-3 win against WPI in Clermont, Fla., on April 11. She has 26 runs batted in and a team-high 30 runs scored, tying Soucie for second in the CCC. O'Riley also has two home runs on the season and a team-best 28 runs batted in, tying her for fifth-best in the CCC.

Bukovsky has been a fixture in the Seahawk lineup at designated player since a CCC sweep of Western New England University (April 12). She collected three hits apiece in wins over Curry College (April 13) and Roger Williams (April 16), two schools which visit Toppa Field on Tuesday as Salve Regina hosts double elimination round in the CCC playoffs.