2011 Softball Wrap-Up

  

The Elmira College Women’s Softball team ended their 2011 season with an overall record of 8-14, finishing 4-10 in the Empire 8 Conference. Elmira started the season 4-4 with wins over St. Lawrence University, Utica College, and Nazareth College, but with the constraints of poor weather coupled with reschedules, EC would go 4-10 over the next 14 games, facing tough Empire 8 competition in Stevens Institute of Technology and #28 ranked Ithaca College.

For the second straight season Jacqueline Gibson ’11 (Jersey Shore, PA -- Jersey Shore Area) was an offensive force for the Soaring Eagles. Gibson finished the season batting an impressive .400 from the right side of the plate in her 20 starts at second base. Gibson notched 26 hits, 7 RBI’s, and 1 home run for Elmira. In the field, she recorded a fielding percentage of 97.4%, only recording 2 errors on the season. For her efforts Gibson earned Empire 8 First Team All-Conference Honors.

Also providing impressive offensive numbers for the Soaring Eagles this season were Erin Rupell ’11 (Lehighton, PA -- Lehighton), Caitlin Roman ’11 (Verbank, NY -- Millbrook), and Taryn Rumsey ’14 (Mansfield, PA -- Mansfield). Rupell finished 2011 with a .310 average at the plate, leading the team with 10 RBI’s and 2 home runs. She recorded 4 doubles and 1 triple on the season, and led Elmira in slugging with a .517 average. Roman hit .297 for the Soaring Eagles, finishing with 19 hits, 4 doubles, and 7 RBI’s. In her first season, Rumsey made an immediate impact from the left side of the plate, batting .294 with 20 hits, 3 doubles, and 5 RBI’s. Rumsey was named to the Empire 8 All-Conference Second Team after hitting .313 and scoring 8 runs in conference play.

Also making an impact at the plate for Elmira in 2011 was Stephany Fontinell ’11 (Shoreham, NY -- Islip), Alex Andrade ’13 (Fairhaven, MA -- Bishop Strong), Megan Werner ’11 (Vestal, NY -- Vestal Central), and Erin Pruess ’12 (Glen Falls, NY -- Glen Falls). Fontinell finished hitting .274, driving in 8 runs, with 1 home run and 5 doubles. Andrade hit .261 in her 46 at bats, recording 9 RBI’s, while Werner and Pruess hit .230 and .179 respectively, driving in a combined 12 RBI’s between them, while Werner earned this season’s Sportswoman of the Year in the Empire 8 Conference for Elmira College. In limited action Esther Brown’14 (Cambridge, MA -- Cambridge) and Sarah Tarquino ’13 (Schwenksville, PA -- Perkiomen Valley) hit .280 and .238 respectively. Brown recorded 3 RBI’s, while Tarquino brought 5 runs to the plate.

Eating up most of the innings on the mound for Elmira this season was the duo of Alex Puglisi ’14 (Shelton, CT -- Trumbull) and Casandra Fontinell ’11 (Shoreham, NY -- Islip). Puglisi led the team with 68.2 innings pitched, a 3.44 ERA, and 51 strikeouts. In her 13 appearances she worked her way to 7 complete games, only giving up 16 walks and an opponent batting average of .253. Fontinell pitched 59.2 innings for Elmira, and finished with a 3.92 ERA, 32 strikeouts, and 5 complete games in her final season on the mound for the Soaring Eagles.

Teszalyn Culp ’12 (Drayton, ON -- Norwell District Secondary), Katie Hobson ’13 (Guilford, CT -- Guilford), Mikayla Bean’14 (Williamson, NY -- Williamson), Krystal Bupp’14 (Bellmawr, NJ -- Triton Regional), Lindsay Labiendo’14 (LaFargeville, NY -- LaFargeville), and Gena Rapisardi’13 (Brackney, PA -- Montrose) all made contributions to the Soaring Eagles 2011 campaign, and look to make great strides in 2012.

The Elmira College Women’s Softball Team, led by Head Coach Rhonda Faunce, will have to fill the voids left by fourth year players Gibson, Casandra and Stephany Fontinell, Rupell, Roman, and Werner in order to find success in the 2012 season.