2013 NFCA All-Region Selections

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (5/10/2013) - Six members of the Utica College softball team were named to the 2013 National Fastpitch Coaches Association Northeast All-Region Team on Friday afternoon.  Sophomore designated player Courtney Fitzgerald (Albany, NY/Colonie Central), sophomore outfielder Christy Traglia (Mohawk, NY/Mohawk) and freshman short stop Alysa Russell (Mechanicville, NY/Mechanicville) were each first team selections, while junior outfielder Chelsea Monroe (Watertown, NY/General Brown) and senior infielder Dominique Carcone (Frankfort, NY/New Hartford) were second team picks.  Freshman pitcher Abby Monroe (Watertown, NY/General Brown) was an honorable mention for the Pioneers.  The first team selections are now eligible for All-American status.

Sophomore Courtney Fitzgerald (Albany, NY/Colonie Central), who was an all-region second team selection last season, is batting .375 (57-for-152) with a school-record 44 RBIs and she is currently tied for the school's single season record with ten home runs.  Her slugging percentage of .651 ranks second on the team and is eighth on the College's single season list.  Her 152 at-bats ranks second in the school's single season record book and her 57 hits is second on the team and sixth in program-history. Her ten doubles leads the team and is tied for fifth all-time.  She has also set a new school standard for total bases with 99.  Over the course of two seasons she has played in 86 games and she has a lifetime .367 batting average.  She now has 103 hits, 18 doubles, 16 home runs, 78 RBIs and a career on-base percentage of .417.

Freshman first team pick Alysa Russell (Mechanicville, NY/Mechanicville) is showcasing one of the most dominating freshman campaigns in the school-history.  The first year shortstop leads the team with 60 hits and she ranks second on the team with a .426 batting average, which is tenth all-time at UC for a single season.  She ranks third on the team with 36 runs scored (sixth all-time) and fourth on the team with 35 RBIs. She has also reached safely on 8-of-10 stolen base attempts.  Her six home runs rank fifth on the team and her nine doubles are good for fourth. 

Sophomore Christy Traglia (Mohawk, NY/Mohawk), a two-sport athlete at UC (also played women's basketball), is batting .377 and she is a perfect 14-for-14 in stolen base attempts through 46 games.  She is tied for the team lead with 37 runs scored.  37 runs scored are also tied with four others for second all-time in the school's single season record book.  Over the course of two seasons she has a .357 batting average in 85 games played.  She has 82 hits, 50 runs scored, 30 RBIs and a career .408 on-base percentage.  It should also be noted that Traglia has never been thrown out while attempting a stolen base.  She is a perfect 26-for-26 in two seasons.

Junior outfielder Chelsea Monroe (Watertown, NY/General Brown), who was named the Empire 8 Conference Player of the Year last week, was a second team selection to the All-Region team.  Monroe is tied with Fitzgerald for the team lead and school-record with ten home runs in 45 games played.  She has a .363 batting average, a .432 on-base percentage, 38 RBIs and a team-best .725 slugging percentage.  Her slugging percentage also ranks fifth all-time at UC for a single season. 

Senior second baseman Dominique Carcone (Frankfort, NY/New Hartford) was a second team selection after leading the team and the Empire 8 Conference with a .438 batting average (8th all-time at UC for a single-season).  Her on-base percentage of .459 and her 15 stolen bases also lead the team. She has played in 44 games for UC and has totaled 56 hits, five doubles, 19 RBIs and 25 runs scored.  Over the course of two seasons at UC she has played in 75 games and has posted a life-time .360 batting average.  She has 77 hits, 33 runs scored and 36 RBIs, to go along with 22 career stolen bases. 

Freshman pitcher Abby Monroe (Watertown, NY/General Brown), sister of Chelsea, leads the team and has tied the school-record with 19 wins this season.  Her ERA of 2.42 ranks sixth all-time on the College's single-season list and she has held her opponents to a .239 batting average.  She is averaging 5.06 strike outs per seven innings.  Her 29 appearances this year ranks second on the school's single season list behind UC alum Stephanie Festa, who appeared on the mound 36 times in 2004.  Monroe has four shut outs this season, including her first career no-hitter in the Pioneers' win over Alfred in the first round of the Empire 8 Tournament.  She has thrown 11 complete games and 133.0 innings this year. 

As a team the Pioneers have shattered numerous school-records including most wins in a single-season (34), highest team batting average (.356), highest slugging percentage (.511), highest on-base percentage (.409), most games played (47), most at-bats (1,332), most hits (474), most home runs (46), most RBIs (289), most stolen bases (78). 

The pitching staff also has the second lowest earned run average in school-history (2.33 in 306.1 innings) and it has held its opponents to a school-record .243 batting average.  The staff has also set a new school mark with 216 strikeouts as a unit.     

The 2013 edition of the Pioneers have scored 85 more runs than any other team in school-history. The original record was set back in 2006 when UC scored 237 runs in a single season. This year's team has scored 322.  This year's team also has 109 more hits than any other team in program history. Nine different players are batting at least .320 for UC. 

As of Monday, the Pioneers ranked fifth nationally with an average of 1.02 home runs per game (404 teams ranked).