FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 9, 2006

Christie Lotti & Nicole Riley Earn
All-New England Softball Honors

Providence, RI— Rhode Island College sophomore first baseman Christie Lotti (Waterford, CT) and junior pitcher Nicole Riley (North Providence, RI) were named to the All-New England All-Star team by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA).

Lotti was named First Team All-New England for the second consecutive season. Lotti, who was also named the Little East Conference Softball Player of the Year and First Team All-Conference, has played in 42 games, starting all of them. She is batting .401 (57-for-142) with 37 runs, seven doubles, ten triples, four home runs, 26 RBI and eight stolen bases. Lotti leads the team in batting, hits, runs, triples, home runs, stolen bases and is tied for second on the club in RBI. Lotti hit an RBI triple in the second inning to plate what proved to be the game-winning run in the Championship Game of the LEC Tournament. Lotti was a First Team All-LEC selection and was named the LEC’s Rookie of the Year as a freshman in 2005.

Riley was also named First Team All-New England. Riley, who was named the Little East Conference Softball Pitcher of the Year and also garnered First Team All-Conference honors, has appeared in 32 games, starting 25 of them, on the season. She is currently 24-2, a new school record for wins in a season, and has not lost a game since Mar. 17. Riley owns an ERA of 1.36 with 21 complete games, five shutouts, two saves and has struck out 154 batters in 175.1 innings pitched. She was named the team’s MVP as well. Riley has been named the Little East Conference’s Pitcher of the Week three times on the season.

Head Coach Maria Morin has led the team to a remarkable season that is still going strong. The Anchorwomen are currently 33-8-1 overall and finished the regular season with an 11-2-1 (First Place) mark in the Little East Conference. RIC was the Little East Conference Softball Regular Season Champion for the second consecutive year. The Anchorwomen defeated seventh-seeded UMass Dartmouth, 7-1, in opening round action of the LEC Tournament on May 4, then downed fourth-seeded Western Connecticut, 6-4, and seventh-seeded Southern Maine, 5-2, on May 5, before facing the Huskies once again in the Championship Game.

The team captured the 2006 Little East Conference Softball Tournament Championship for the first time in school history with a 2-1 victory over fifth-seeded Southern Maine on Saturday, May 6. The Anchorwomen advance to the NCAA Div. III Softball Regional Tournament, hosted by Babson, on Thursday-Sunday, May 11-14. The seven-team bracket features top-seeded Williams, second-seeded RIC, third-seeded Western New England, fourth-seeded Babson, fifth-seeded Endicott, sixth-seeded Bridgewater State and seventh-seeded Saint Joseph’s of Long Island. The double elimination tournament will feature four games on Thursday, four games on Friday, three on Saturday and three on Sunday. The Anchorwomen will open play at 2 p.m. on Thursday against seventh-seeded Saint Joseph’s of Long Island.

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