ADELPHI UNIVERSITY PANTHERS 2016 NCAA Division II Softball East Super Regional Wednesday, May 11 - Thursday, May 12 Adelphi University Location: Garden City, N.Y. NCAA EAST SUPER REGIONAL Founded: 1896 The Adelphi University Panthers posted a 3-0 record in the East 2 Region, Enrollment: 8,700 President: Dr. Chrsitine M. Riordan defeating Pace and Molloy twice to advance to the Super Regional stage. Athletic Director: Danny McCabe On Thursday, May 5 the Panthers defeated Pace by a 6-0 score, as Adelphi Conference: Northeast-10 (NE-10) got a grand slam from Brenna Martini to enter the winner’s bracket. In Home Field: Janet L. Ficke Field Affiliation: NCAA Division II their second game on Thursday, the Panthers faced Molloy, who defeated Nickname: Panthers LIU Post in the first game of the afternoon. After a scoreless seven innings School Colors: Brown and Gold between the two teams, extra innings were needed to decide things, and Athletic Dept. Phone: (516) 877-4240 the Panthers scored five runs in the top of the ninth as the home team to Softball Staff Information advance into the East 2 Regional final, 5-0. Head Coach: Bree Nasti Record at School: 99-61 (fourth season) Associate Head Coach: Ophir Sadeh In the final, the Panthers again faced Molloy as the Lions defeated LIU Post Softball Phone: 516-877-4246 a second time to advance into the final. After Nicole Camera drove in Adel- Assistant Coaches: Victoria Wink & Mo- phi’s first run in the third inning, the Lions responded to tie it in the next nique Roberge frame, and the two teams again were forced into extras. This time, it was Athletic Media Relations Camera who came through again for the Brown and Gold, as she launched Assoc.AD/Media Relations: Adam a two-run home run over the right field fence in the eighth to power Siepiola Office Phone: (516) 877-4293 Adelphi to a 3-1 win. Southern New Hampshire advanced out of the East Email: [email protected] 1 Region, hosted by Caldwell University at Georgian Court University, by Coordinator of Sports Info: Pat McWal- posting a 3-0 record, defeating Le Moyne, Caldwell and Le Moyne again to ters Office Phone: (516) 877-4236 advance. Email: [email protected] Graduate Assistant: Victoria Chiesa The Panthers and Penmen have not faced each other in 2016 -- however, Office Phone: (516) 877-3774 Email: [email protected] this year is a rematch of last season’s Super Regional, which Adelphi won Office Fax: (516) 877-4237 2-0 in Manchester, N.H. to advance to the College World Series. Website: www.AUPANTHERS.com Softball Contact: Victoria Chiesa Softball History 2016 IN REVIEW First Year as a Varsity Sport: 1972 All-Time Varsity Record/Years: 1,052- For the second straight year, the Panthers headed out west to begin their 626-7/42 season with a swing through Southern California. The Panthers left the All-Time NE-10 Record/Years: 114-51/7 West Coast with a 2-8 record and embarked on a tear upon returning NCAA Tournament Appearances/Last: 15/2015 home, winning 17 of their next 19 games -- sweeping seven double head- 2015 Team Information ers. Overall Record: 31-22 NE-10 Regular Season Record: 13-5/2nd Place Postseason: Northeast-10 Conference NCAA DIVISION II SOFTBALL EAST SUPER REGIONAL Final/NCAA East 2 Regional Dates: May 11-12 Starters Returning/Lost: 6/3 Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 10/3 Venue: Janet L. Ficke Field Location: Hosted by Adelphi University After finishing 13-5 in the Southwest Division of the Northeast-10 Conference and ending in a three-way tie with Pace and Le Moyne, the Panthers earned the No. 3 seed due to head-to-head matchups during the regular season. In the play in game, Adelphi defeated New Haven, the No. 4 seed, 5-1 at home before travel- ling back to Briarcliff for Championship Weekend. The Panthers beat the Stonehill Skyhawks, the No. 2 seeds out of the Northeast Division, 7-5 after opening a 7-0 lead in the game, before falling to the Setters in the semifinal round. Bree Nasti and her staff had seven players earn all-conference accolades this season with Brenna Martini being named Player of the Year as well as landing on the First Team at third base. Outfielder Krista King also landed on the First Team in center field and as Adelphi’s lead off hitter. Sophomore Nicole Camera earned newly-minted Defensive Player of the Year honors for her play in the field while also landing on the Second Team at second base, while Lindsay Mapes landed on the Third Team. Earning All-Rookie status were Nico- letta Cuccio, Kristin Fealy and Lauren Sandelier. Martini also earned recognition as an NFCA Top 25 Player of the Year finalist. Tabbed as the league’s best player this season after capping her 2015 freshman campaign with the Rookie of the Year award, Martini leads both the team and conference in almost all offensive categories, pacing both in average (.455), home runs (13), RBIs (54), walks (35) on base percentage (.558) and slugging percentage (.927). Earlier this season, she set the program’s single-season record for home runs to break Deandra Leo’s mark of 11 set in 2011. Camera, who ranks second on the team in average at .359 and in home runs with eight, is Adelphi’s sure hand at second base; the sophomore boasts a fielding percentage of .982 with 84 putouts and 83 assists on the year. She adds this year’s honors to First Team and All-Rookie selections last year as a freshman. King, who’s hitting .348 in Adelphi’s leadoff spot, adds First Team honors to her resume in her sophomore season. The Panthers’ centerfielder is tied with Martini for the team lead with 56 hits and has also scored 37 runs. Finally, Mapes earns her second career All-Conference nod, having been named to the First Team last year. This season, she ranks fifth in the NE-10 in wins with a 14-11 record in 25 starts, and a 2.79 ERA in 158.0 innings. She ranks third in the conference in strikeouts with 127, and first in complete games with 22. Adelphi’s freshman trio of Fealy, Cuccio and Sandelier have also contributed to the Panthers’ success this sea- son. Fealy, the Panthers’ second starter behind Mapes, has posted a 12-7 record this season with a 3.40 ERA in 94.2 innings pitched. Cuccio, who’s split catching duties with Megan Lewis behind the plate, has started in 26 games in 39 appearances, and is hitting at a .307 clip for fourth-best on the team. She’s driven in 13 runs this season and leads the team in triples with four, while having also demonstrated a keen eye at the plate; Cuccio ranks second to Martini in on-base percentage at .505 as she’s also drawn 26 walks. Finally, Sandelier has appeared in 40 games with 20 starts primarily as a designated player, and is also hitting over .300 at .302. The Washington Township, N.J. native has recorded 26 hits with 12 RBIs and has also scored 16 runs. *regular season stats ADELPHI IN THE NCAAS Adelphi Softball has received a total of 16 invites to the NCAA Tournament, six while a Division I program and and now 10 as a Division II status. The Panthers’ longest run at a national championship came in back- to-back years in 1984 and 1985 where the Brown and Gold placed fifth in the College World Series. 2015 was the first season as a Division II program and under the direction of Nasti that the team advanced to the Division II College World Series. Adelphi has reached the Super Regional stage in three of the past four years, doing so in 2013, 2015 and now 2016. Honors & Awards Player of the Year Northeast-10 1st-Team Brenna Martini Brenna Martini - 3B Krista King - OF Defensive Player of the Year Nicole Camera Northeast-10 2nd-Team Nicole Camera - 2B Northeast-10 3rd-Team Lindsay Mapes - P Northeast-10 All-Rookie Team Nicoletta Cuccio - C Lauren Sandelier - IF Kristin Fealy- P HEAD coacH BREE NASTI Breanne Nasti was named head coach of the Adelphi University softball team on August 16, 2012, becoming the eighth coach in program history. In her third season at Adelphi, Nasti led the Panthers to a historic season in the program’s Division II history. Finishing with a 31-22 overall record, the Panthers won both the NCAA Division II East 2 Regional and the East Super Regional, which earned them a College World Series berth -- the first as a Division II program. The Panthers finished 13-5 in NE-10 conference play, earning them a first place finish in the Southeast Division, before the team lost in the NE-10 Tournament Championship to Southern New Hampshire. Nasti and her staff earned NFCA East Region Coaching Staff of the Year honors for the second time in three seasons, as they coached freshman sensation Brenna Martini to NE-10 and ECAC Rookie of the Year recognition and four others to All- Conference. Nasti led the Brown and Gold to another NCAA East Regional appear- ance in 2014, as the squad posted a 27-20 overall record including a 14-8 clip in NE-10 play. The Panthers also advanced to the semifinals of the NE-10 Championship before being defeated by Southern New Hampshire, the eventual champions. Nasti had two players selected to NE-10 All- Conference teams, including the NE-10 Player of the Year, as well as one Daktronics First Team All-Region selection.