Posted: May 01, 2019

Nelson pitcher of the year; joins six other Seahawks on All-CCC softball squad

Seven Seahawks earn All-CCC honors highlighted by Pitcher of the Year Andi Nelson.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) announced its 2019 Softball All-Conference Teams and major award winners Wednesday morning. All nine CCC schools had student-athletes garner All-CCC recognition. Endicott and Salve Regina each had seven selections to lead the conference.

Four different institutions had student-athletes earn major awards this season. The University of New England's Avery Alberghini (Moretown, Vt.) was selected as the league's Player of the Year, while Salve Regina's Andi Nelson (Candia, N.H.) was voted the Pitcher of the Year. Jamie Cookingham (Warner, N.H.) from Western New England was the conference's top first-year player and took home the Rookie of the Year award. Gordon senior Rose Shannon (Ashland, Mass.) was picked as the CCC Scholar-Athlete. UNE head coach Dan Letellier was named the CCC Coach of the Year and Wentworth won the Team Sportsmanship award.

Voting for the All-CCC teams and each of the major awards was conducted by the conference's nine softball head coaches following the conclusion of the regular season.

Alberghini and Nelson were also named All-CCC First Team performers with the UNE standout being named the First Team catcher and the Salve ace being selected as one of the two pitchers. Alberghini's teammate Sydnee Bessler (Everett, Mass.) was the other First Team pitcher. Around the bases were three student-athletes who played their home games in the North Shore. Endicott teammates Jamie Hopgood (Warwick, R.I.) and Adrianna Favreau (Tewksbury, Mass.) were selected a first base and second base, respectively, while Gordon's Megan Jenkerson (McDonough, Ga.) was the selection at third base. Rounding out the infield was Salve Regina shortstop Amanda Riley (Barrington, N.H.). In the First Team outfield were Curry's Liana Duarte (Taunton, Mass.), Endicott's Gina DeMilt (Princeton, N.J.), and UNE's Alexis Kapsambelis (Merrimack, N.H.). The remaining two All-CCC First Team members were Gordon's Laura Bieren (Groton, Mass.) at utility and UNE's Meg Harvey (Westmoreland, N.H.) as the designated player.

There were also 12 student-athletes named to the All-CCC Second Team. Pitchers Alexis Ferris (Holyoke, Mass.) from Nichols and Laura Somerville (Suffield, Conn.) from Endicott both earned spots, as did Salve Regina catcher Holly Kathios (Pelham, N.H.). The four Second Team infielders all represented different schools with Brionna Myers (Seabrook, N.H.) from Wentworth playing first, Lily Rivera (Concord, N.H.) from Gordon at second, Elizabeth Lombardo (Thomaston, Conn.) from Roger Williams patrolling third, and Lauren Misiaszek (Londonderry, N.H.) setting up at shortstop. In the Second Team outfield were the Fighting Scots' Karissa Hatchell (Eaton, Colo.), the Hawks' Sydney Provencal (Cumberland, R.I.), and the Seahawks' Lindsey Florent (New Bedford, Mass.). Western New England's Aimee Kistner (Taunton, Mass.) was the Second Team utility player and Salve's Maddie Machado (Westport, Mass.) was the DP.

Kistner was also named to the All-CCC Third Team as a pitcher. Joining her with the other spot in the circle was the Gulls' Maggie Oram (Lexington, Mass.). They would be delivering to Oram's teammate Peyton Atkins (Goshen, N.Y.) as the Third Team catcher. In the Third Team infield were the Colonels' Alexis Buckner (Foxborough, Mass.) at first, the Leopards' Katie Verreault (Scarborough, Maine) at second, the Seahawks' Nikki Vanelli (Quakertown, Pa.) at third, and the Nor'easters' Taylor Depot (Auburn, Maine) at shortstop. There were four outfielders who earned spots on the All-CCC Third Team. They were Shannon from Gordon, Samantha Kostek (Oxford, Conn.) from Nichols, Jaycee Garrigan (Uxbridge, Mass.) from Salve Regina, and Andrea Gosper (Wyoming, R.I.) from UNE. Wentworth's Kayla DeMedeiros (South Dartmouth, Mass.) earned an All-Conference spots as the Third Team utility player and WNE's Dina DiBlasio (Norwalk, Conn.) was the DP.

Nelson was impressive in the circle for the Seahawks this season as she compiled a 15-7 record with two saves. Her 15 victories were tops in the conference, including league-best seven shutouts. The Salve ace led the league in strikeouts (130) and innings pitched (135.1). Nationally, Nelson ranked in the top-30 in three categories shutouts (seventh), strikeouts (26th), and victories (29th). She opened the year with a no-hitter against Finlandia and posted a pair of two-hit complete-game shutouts later in the year. She had five games with seven or more strikeouts, including two 14-K performances. She was selected as the CCC Pitcher of the Week twice, once in the week ending March 10 then again in the week ending April 7.