WEST BABYLON, N.Y. – Staten Island sophomore shortstop Aileen Balderas (Los Angeles, Calif.) and St. Thomas Aquinas sophomore pitcher/centerfielder Eliana Raposo (Wareham, Mass.) shared ECC Co-Player of the Year honors to headline the East Coast Conference Softball All-Conference awards, which were announced on Thursday afternoon. St. Thomas Aquinas senior Sarah Clancy (Chino Hills, Calif.) was named the Pitcher of the Year, Queens freshman pitcher Caylea Campbell (Murrieta, Calif.) was tabbed the Rookie of the Year, and Kristen Sullivan repeated as Coach of the Year for the third year in a row as all voting was completed by the league’s six head coaches.
Balderas led the conference with 67 hits this spring and ranked second in runs scored (43), tied for second in doubles (15), ranked third in batting average (.411) and fourth in slugging percentage (.589) and on base percentage (.443), and tied for fifth in home runs (4). She also turned in a .933 fielding percentage at shortstop with 89 putouts and 106 assists while turning seven double plays on the year.
Raposo excelled both at the plate and in the circle for the Spartans. Offensively, she led the ECC in runs batted in (46) and ranked in the top 10 in the league in home runs (7 - 2nd), triples (4, T-2nd), runs scored (41 - 3rd), slugging percentage (.639 - 3rd), hits (58 - T-4th), doubles (12 - T-5th), batting average (.374 - 6th), and on base percentage (.422 - 7th). In the circle, the three-time ECC Pitcher of the Week turned in a 13-win season, including a 7-3 mark in conference action, and ranked sixth amongst ECC pitchers in both ERA (3.55) and strikeouts (63).
Clancy went 16-9 overall and 9-1 in ECC action this spring, leading the conference in overall wins (16), saves (3), and strikeouts (142) in a conference-leading 175.2 innings pitched; she also tied for the ECC lead in strikeouts looking, with 38. The STAC senior also ranked second with a 2.71 ERA and .254 opposing batting average. A three-time ECC Pitcher of the Week, her 27 starts rank 12th in all of Division II this year.
Campbell, a four-time ECC Rookie of the Week, led the conference in batting average (.426) and on base percentage (.504), ranked second in slugging percentage (.687) and OPS (1.191), tied for second in doubles (15) and for third in walks (17), ranked fourth in home runs (5) and sixth in RBI (34), and tied for 10th in hits (49). In the circle, she went 11-9 overall with six wins in conference play, ranking in the ECC’s top five in wins (11), ERA (3.07), and strikeouts (95) in 146 innings pitched; she also tied for the ECC lead in strikeouts looking, with 38.
St. Thomas Aquinas’ Kristen Sullivan was named Coach of the Year by her peers for the third straight year. Under Sullivan’s guidance, the Spartans earned a share of a third straight ECC Regular-Season Championship with a 16-4 record in conference play.
2024 ECC Softball All-Conference
First Team
C - Halie Furkas, D'Youville
1B - Samantha Franck, Mercy
2B - Elyse Marcano, St. Thomas Aquinas
SS - Aileen Balderas, Staten Island
3B - Emma Zumpol, Queens
OF - Alex Burns, Molloy
OF - Steph Conrade, Molloy
OF - Shannon Sisco, Mercy
DP - Olivia Wanser, Staten Island
UTL - Jessica Feerick, St. Thomas Aquinas
UTL-P - Stevie Dabadie, Molloy
UTL-P - Eliana Raposo, St. Thomas Aquinas
P - Sarah Clancy, St. Thomas Aquinas
P - Sophia Mariottini, Molloy
Second Team
C - Cheralyn Dusharme, Molloy
1B - Anissa Acosta, Staten Island
2B - Chrissie Huhn, Molloy
SS - Gianna Adamo, D'Youville
OF - Amanda Baez, Queens
OF - Mariah Carcano, Staten Island
OF - Amanda Stalker, Staten Island
DP - Nicole Smart, Mercy
P - Caylea Campbell, Queens
P - Arianna Fracchioni, Queens
Co-Players of the Year: Aileen Balderas, Staten Island and Eliana Raposo, St. Thomas Aquinas
Pitcher of the Year: Sarah Clancy, St. Thomas Aquinas
Rookie of the Year: Caylea Campbell, Queens
Coach of the Year: Kristen Sullivan, St. Thomas Aquinas