CCSU Softball Earns Three Major NEC Awards

The Central Connecticut softball team earned three major awards and various players were named to the All-NEC First Team, Second Team, and Rookie Team on Wednesday announced by the Northeast Conference. CCSU's Kaylee Whittaker earned the Pitcher of the Year Award and Meg Gorman was named the Most Improved Player. Whittaker, Gorman, and Paige Stringer were named to the All-NEC First Team, while Ashlyn Desaulniers made the All-NEC Second Seam. Desaulniers, Ava Cino, and Grace Lawton were all named to the All-Rookie Team. 

Coaches Breanne Gleason, Pat Holden, and Meg Dugas were recognized as the Coaching Staff of the Year.  Gleason and her staff improved from a ninth-place finish in 2022 to a 14-7 record in NEC play and tied for second in the standings. The staff has led Central to the NEC Tournament for the first time since 2021. 

Senior Kaylee Whittaker finished the regular season with a 20-9 record and 2.56 era. The native of Hamilton, NJ struck out 114 batters in 196.2 innings pitched. She was named the NEC Pitcher of the Week on March 21st after going 5-0 with two wins over the University of Hartford and a three-game sweep of Wagner. She pitched 35.2 innings with four complete games, including a 13-inning contest against the Seahawks that week. 

Senior Meg Gorman led the Blue Devils and the conference in stolen bases (17) and finished the regular season with a .972 fielding percentage. She raised her batting average from .224 to .262 and her on-base percentage from .283 to .303 from the 2022 to 2023 seasons. Her biggest jump was in slugging percentage where she went from .303 to .408. 

Stringer joined her teammates on the All-NEC First Team, leading CCSU in runs (19), hits (41), batting average (.380), on-base percentage (.414), and slugging percentage (.602). She also played a solid third base, finishing the season with a .958 fielding percentage. 

Freshman Ashlyn Desaulniers was named Second Team All-Conference after playing in 34 games this season with 108 at-bats. She averaged .287 at the plate, totaling 31 hits, 10 RBI, and two home runs in her rookie season.  

Desaulniers was also named to the NEC All-Rookie Team alongside Ava Cino and Grace Lawton. Cino saw action in 34 games this season playing shortstop. The Bayville, NJ native totaled 40 putouts and 47 assists. She was third on the team for hits (30), home runs (4), RBI (14), and slugging percentage (.467).  

Lawton played in 32 games at first base, tallying 196 putouts. In her 86 at-bats, she totaled 19 hits, four home runs, and 11 RBI. She was named Rookie of the Week on May 2nd after going 4-5 in CCSU's three-game series against Stonehill, hitting two home runs (a two-run homer and a three-run homer) and snagging six RBI.  

The Blue Devils earned the #3 seed in the upcoming NEC Softball Tournament after going 14-7 in conference play. CCSU will play LIU in round one of the Northeast Conference Tournament on Thursday, May 11 at 3:00 pm. For complete NEC Tournament coverage visit NEC Tournament Central.