FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 9, 2005

Rhode Island College Falters at LEC Tournament
Anchorwomen hope for ECAC bid

(24-15 Overall; 12-2 in the Little East)

Providence, RI--Head Coach Maria Morin’s team clinched the top seed in the Little East Conference and hosted the 2005 LEC Softball Tournament. It is first time in the program’s history that the Anchorwomen finished first in the conference and captured the regular season championship. 2005 also marks RIC’s seventh consecutive season with 20 or more wins.

The Anchorwomen had a bye in the first round of the LEC Softball Tournament and faced fourth-seeded Southern Maine in their first action on Thursday, May 5. RIC won the game, 2-1, on freshman Krystal Bilek’s (Fitchburg, MA) go-ahead RBI double in the bottom of the sixth inning.

RIC then faced second-seeded Keene State on Friday, May 6 and were defeated, 8-0. After Saturday’s games were cancelled due to inclement weather, the Anchorwomen faced upstart fifth-seeded Eastern Connecticut on Sunday, May 8. The teams played scoreless softball until the Warriors scored in the bottom of the eighth inning to win the game, 1-0, to eliminate the Anchorwomen.

 RIC is now awaiting selections for the ECAC Div. III New England Softball Tournament, which will be announced later today. The Anchorwomen have been selected in four of the past six seasons.

The 2005 Anchorwomen

 Freshman first baseman Christie Lotti (Waterford, CT) has played in 38 games, starting 37 of them. She is batting a team-high .444 with a team-high 55 hits, 32 runs scored, 13 walks, six triples, five home runs and 16 stolen bases along with 11 doubles and 19 RBI. Her five home runs are a new single-season program record. Lotti owns a .750 slugging percentage, a .496 on base percentage and a .972 fielding percentage. She has named the Little East Player of the Week once and was the LEC’s Rookie of the Week twice this season.

Senior third baseman Amy Machado (Newport, RI) has played in 38 games, starting 37 of them. She is batting .325 with 39 hits, two home runs, ten doubles, two triples, 14 runs scored and a team-high 24 RBI. Machado owns a .492 slugging percentage, a .364 on-base percentage and a .897 fielding percentage.

Sophomore pitcher Nicole Riley (North Providence, RI) has appeared in 23 games, starting 15 of them. She owns a 10-6 record with one save. She has a 2.31 ERA and has pitched four complete games. In a 100 innings pitched, she has struck out 90 batters. As a hitter, she has played in 18 games, starting 13 of them. She is batting .189 with seven hits, one triple, eight walks, one stolen base, eight runs scored and four RBI. Riley owns a .243 slugging percentage, a .333 on base percentage and a .897 fielding percentage.

Freshman pitcher Heidi Eichler (Madison, CT) has appeared in 26 games, starting 20 of them. She owns a 12-8 record with  two saves and a 1.82 ERA along with 12 complete games. In a team-high 123 innings pitched, she has struck out a team-high 112 batters. As a hitter, she has played in nine games, starting six of them. She is batting .273 with three hits, one double, one walk and two runs scored. Eichler owns a .364 slugging percentage, a .333 on base percentage and a .958 fielding percentage.

Freshman catcher/infielder Jeanne Rosa (Milford, CT) has played in 24 games, starting 21 of them. She is batting .339 with 20 hits, six doubles, eight RBI and eight runs scored. Rosa owns a .441 slugging percentage, a .355 on base percentage and a .974 fielding percentage. Rosa was injured during RIC’s LEC Tournament game against Southern Maine and is out indefinitely.

Freshman catcher Krystal Bilek (Fitchburg, MA) has played in 21 games, starting 15 of them. She is batting .345 with 19 hits, one home run, four doubles, six walks, five runs scored and 15 RBI. Bilek owns a .473 slugging percentage, a .422 on base percentage and a 1.000 fielding percentage.

Junior outfielder Katie Benevides (North Dighton, MA) has played in 35 games, starting all of them. She is batting .227 with 22 hits, one double, three stolen bases, ten runs scored, nine RBI and two walks. Benevides owns a .237 slugging percentage, a .257 on base percentage and a .958 fielding percentage.

Sophomore shortstop Adora Burke (Naples, ME) has played in 36 games, starting 30 of them. She is batting .297 with 27 hits, one home run, three doubles, one triple, nine walks, 18 runs scored and 11 RBI. Burke owns a .385 slugging percentage and a .360 on base percentage along with a .894 fielding percentage.

Junior outfielder Megan Ponte (Wakefield, RI) has played in 34 games, starting 33 of them. She is batting .244 with 21 hits, two triples, two home runs, four walks, three stolen bases, 14 runs scored and six RBI. Ponte owns a .360 slugging percentage, a .309 on-base percentage and a .978 fielding percentage.

Sophomore catcher/designated player Kristyn Alexander (East Wareham, MA) has played in 38 games, starting 33 of them. She is batting .262 with 27 hits, four doubles, five walks, four runs scored and seven RBI. Alexander owns a .301 slugging percentage, a .309 on-base percentage and a .986 fielding percentage.

Junior outfielder Andree Sitnik (Lincoln, RI) has played in 30 games, starting 22 of them. She is batting .196 with ten hits, two doubles, one RBI, ten runs scored and three walks. Sitnik owns a .235 slugging percentage, a .241 on-base percentage and a .857 fielding percentage.

Sophomore infielder Crystal O’Connell (Somerset, MA) has played in 15 games, starting 11 of them. She is batting .125 with three hits, three runs scored, three walks, two stolen bases and two RBI. O’Connell owns a .125 slugging percentage, a .250 on-base percentage and a .920 fielding percentage.

Sophomore infielder Katelyn Labelle (South Dartmouth, MA) has played in 18 games, starting 12 of them. She is batting .208 with five hits, two doubles, four walks, six runs scored and three RBI. Labelle owns a .292 slugging percentage, a .321 on-base percentage and a .953 fielding percentage.

Sophomore infielder Casie Lyons (Hudson, MA) has played in 31 games, starting 2250 of them. She is batting .179 with ten hits, five walks, eight runs scored and six RBI. Lyons owns a .178 slugging percentage, a .245 on-base percentage and a .945 fielding percentage.

Freshman pitcher/infielder Katie Sayball (Milford, CT) has appeared in 13 games, starting three of them. She owns a 1-1 record with a 2.71 ERA. In 31.0 innings pitched, she has struck out 14 batters. As a hitter, she has played in 17 games, starting 11 of them. She is batting .118 with two hits, two walks and one run scored. Sayball owns a .118 slugging percentage, a .211 on base percentage and a .978 fielding percentage.

Freshman designated player/pitcher Kayla Baranski (Cumberland, RI) has played in 15 games, starting four of them. She is batting .150 with three hits, two walks and two RBI. Baranski owns a .150 slugging percentage, a .217 on base percentage and a .833 fielding percentage. On the mound, she has appeared in three games, starting one of them. She has a record of 1-0 and a 2.86 ERA in 7.1 innings pitched.

Freshman outfielder Rachelle Edgar (Waterford, CT) has played in 18 games, starting ten of them. She is hitting .200 with five hits, one stolen base, one walk and four runs scored. Edgar owns a .200 slugging percentage, a .231 on base percentage and a 1.000 fielding percentage.

Freshman outfielder Amy Huston (Wakefield, RI) has played in 14 games. She has one walk and four runs scored.

Freshman second baseman/shortstop Katie Chadwick (Wakefield, RI) has played in 13 games, starting four of them. She has one walk on the season.

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