FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 8, 2007

Five Anchorwomen Earn First Team
All-Little East Honors in Softball
Lotti Earns Second Player of the Year Award;
Riley Named Co-Pitcher of the Year

Providence, RI—Five Rhode Island College players were named First Team All-Little East Conference for their performance in softball this season. Junior first baseman Christie Lotti (Waterford, CT) was named the LEC’s Player of the Year for the second consecutive season, while senior pitcher Nicole Riley (North Providence, RI) shared the Pitcher of the Year honors with Western Connecticut junior Shelby Slie (Seymour, CT).

Riley, who the conference’s Pitcher of the Year as junior in 2006, was also named First Team All-Little East for the second consecutive campaign. She has appeared in 37 games, starting 30 of them. Riley is 26-3 with a 0.82 earned run average and two saves. She has struck out 207 batters in 186.2 innings of work and logged 11 shutouts. Riley is Rhode Island College’s all-time leader in career wins (74), games started (92), relief appearances (24) and shutouts (22). She is second in strikeouts (574) and innings pitched (595.2), while ranking third in career ERA (1.57). Riley owns the longest consecutive winning streak in NCAA Div. III softball history (43 games), which began on Mar. 17, 2006 and ended on Apr. 22, 2007.

In addition to her back-to-back Player of the Year awards, Lotti was named First Team All-Little East Conference for the third consecutive season. She has played in 42 games, starting 41 of them. Lotti is batting .434 (59-136) with 44 runs scored, 13 doubles, 10 triples, two home runs and 22 RBI. She owns a .721 slugging percentage, a .494 on-base percentage and a .979 fielding percentage. Lotti is Rhode Island College’s all-time leader in career batting (.420), hits (177), runs scored (120), doubles (43), triples (27), home runs (11), total bases (297), slugging percentage (.705) and walks (43). She is third in RBI (70), fourth in stolen bases (35), while holding numerous single-season school marks as well.

Senior catcher Kristyn Alexander (East Wareham, MA) was named First Team All-Little East Conference. Alexander earned Second Team honors as a junior (2006) and sophomore (2005), while earning First Team and LEC Rookie of  the Year accolades as a designated player during her freshman season (2004). Alexander has played in 40 games, starting 37 of them. She is batting .363 (41-for-113) with 15 runs scored, five doubles, three home runs and a team-high 26 RBI. Alexander owns a .487 slugging percentage, a .438 on-base percentage and a .993 fielding percentage. Alexander is Rhode Island College’s all-time leader in RBI (87). She is tied for second in hits (156), tied for third in home runs (4) and total bases (193), sixth in walks (37), seventh in batting (.326) and doubles (7), while ranking ninth in total bases (402).

Sophomore second baseman Justine Burgess (Uxbridge, MA) was named First Team All-Little East Conference. She has played in 33 games, starting 31 of them. She is batting .316 (25-for-79) with 19 runs scored, four doubles, a triple and 19 RBI. Burgess owns a .393 slugging percentage, a .443 on-base percentage and a .946 fielding percentage.

Freshman designated player Mandy Shurgot (Woonsocket, RI) was named First Team All-Little East Conference. She has played in 34 games, starting 31 of them. She is batting .368 (32-for-87) with 25 runs scored, six doubles, three triples, two home runs and 13 RBI. Shurgot owns a .575 slugging percentage, a .456 on-base percentage and a .880 fielding percentage. She is third on the team in batting and second in runs scored.

Head Coach Maria Morin’s team is 37-5 overall and finished the regular season with a 12-2 (first place) mark in the Little East Conference. The Anchorwomen captured their third consecutive regular season LEC title and second straight conference tournament title. RIC is the top seed and host for the 2007 NCAA Div. III Softball N.E. Regional Tournament, which begins on May 10 and runs through May 13. RIC is making its second NCAA Tournament appearance. The club’s 37 wins are a new school record for a single season.

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