photos courtesy of Mark Campbell

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- University of Delaware senior shortstop Kim Ovittore was named to the All-Colonial Athletic Association Softball First Team while sophomore third baseman Michelle Grap earned second team honors at the conference awards banquet Tuesday night. Additionally UD freshman centerfielder Rachel Jones and freshman pitcher Amanda Stacevicz each represented Delaware on the CAA All-Rookie Team.

Ovittore (Bethel, Conn./Lauralton Hall) -above right- received All-CAA honors for the second time as she was a second team pick as a sophomore in 2007. Ovittore, who started all 39 games at shortstop this year, led the Blue Hens with a .327 batting average, 37 hits, 24 runs scored, and eight doubles. She went 3 for 3 against Seton Hall and La Salle, and posted eight two-hit games on the season. Ovittore finished her career ranked second in Blue Hen history with 10 home runs, third with 37 doubles and 101 RBI, fourth with 243 total bases, sixth with 87 runs scored, eighth with 160 hits, and 13th with a .302 batting average.

Grap (Ellicott City, Md./Centennial) -below right- also started all 39 games this season, all but two of them at third base. She led Delaware with 20 runs batted in while ranking second with a .306 batting average, 34 hits and three home runs. Grap, who led the Blue Hens with 12 multi-hit games and five multi-RBI games on the year, went 3 for 4 at Georgia State and posted an eight-game hitting streak from March 21 through March 31. She will enter her junior season already tied for third in Delaware history with nine career home runs.

Jones (Endicott, N.Y./Union Endicott) appeared in and started 36 games during her freshman season, including 28 in centerfield. She batted .253 on the year with 22 hits, 14 RBI, 10 runs scored and four doubles. Jones went 3 for 4 with three RBI in a win over Army and added four two-hit games this season. She belted her first career home run in a victory over La Salle on April 2.

Stacevicz (Cedar Grove, N.J./Mount St. Dominic Academy) went 10-9 with a 2.89 earned run average during her freshman campaign and fired five shutouts on the season. Stacevicz, who won eight of her final 11 decisions, threw one-hit shutouts against Lehigh and George Mason, and had a 26 consecutive scoreless innings streak from April 8 through April 18. She earned CAA Rookie of the Week honors four times and Pitcher of the Week honors once, while her five shutouts tied for eighth most in a UD single season.

Hofstra first baseman Michele DePasquale was named the CAA Player of the Year, while her teammate Kayleigh Lotti earned Pitcher of the Year honors for the third consecutive season. Georgia State pitcher Alana Thomas was tabbed the CAA Rookie of the Year, while Hofstra’s Bill Edwards won his second straight CAA Coach of the Year award.

Colonial Athletic Association Softball First Team
C - Catherine Lee, Georgia State
1B - Michele DePasquale, Hofstra
2B - Casey Fee, Hofstra
2B - Mindy Bean, Towson
3B - Danielle Roddy, Georgia State
SS - Kim Ovittore, Delaware
OF - Natasha Berry, Georgia State
OF - Emily Gould, Towson
OF - Courtney Simons, James Madison
DP - Paige Collings, Drexel
DP/P - Becky Anderson, George Mason
P - Meredith Felts, James Madison
P - Kayleigh Lotti, Hofstra

Second Team
C - Ashley Botelho, Drexel
1B - Shannon Moxey, James Madison
2B - Morgan Walters, UNC Wilmington
3B - Michelle Grap, Delaware
SS - Sammi DiPompo, Towson
OF - Erika Bernstein, Hofstra
OF - Kelsey Eddinger, UNC Wilmington
OF - Melissa Hodge, Hofstra
OF - Holly Willis, Georgia State
DP - Joanne Kralowetz, Hofstra
DP/P - Miranda Crawford, George Mason
P - Shannon Johnston, Towson
P - Alana Thomas, Georgia State

All-Rookie Team
P/OF - Hillary Allen, Drexel
SS - Ashley Burnham, James Madison
C - Paige Collings, Drexel
C/IF - Morgan Davis, George Mason
OF - Kelsey Eddinger, UNC Wilmington
OF - Rachel Jones, Delaware
UT - Alyssa See, George Mason
P - Amanda Stacevicz, Delaware
OF - Erika Stash, Towson
P - Alana Thomas, Georgia State

CAA Player of the Year: Michele DePasquale, Hofstra
CAA Pitcher of the Year: Kayleigh Lotti, Hofstra
CAA Rookie of the Year: Alana Thomas, Georgia State
CAA Coach of the Year: Bill Edwards, Hofstra