New York, NY---The Sage Colleges' softball team was picked third in the race for the 2013 Skyline Conference Championship with the release of the league's pre-season poll on Friday. Bolstered by the return of two-time Player of the Year Corine Fitzgibbons, NYU-Poly has been selected to seize the 2013 Skyline Softball Championship in voting conducted by the league's eight head coaches.
Seeking its fourth league championship in five years, defending champion Farmingdale State returns sophomore hurler Taylor Tedeschi, the Most Valuable Player of the 2012 Skyline Championship. NYU-Poly received six first-place votes and compiled 48 points, while FSC amassed 41points and garnered a first-place vote. Sage also earned a first-place vote and placed third in the voting with 40 points. The Gators finished runner up at the 2012 Skyline Championship and won a program-record 29 contests. Sage welcomes back reigning Rookie of the Year Kristen Beikirch.
Coming off a program-record 26-win season, Old Westbury is ranked fourth with 31 points, followed by 2012 ECAC Metro Champion St. Joseph's-L.I. (25), Mount Saint Mary (20), Mount Saint Vincent (10) and Purchase (10).
The four-team 2013 Skyline Championship will be held on Apr. 26-28 on the campus of the regular
season champion and will collect the league's automatic bid to the 2013 NCAA Division III Championship.
2013 Skyline Preseason Coaches' Poll Points
1. NYU-Poly 48 [6]
2. Farmingdale State 41 [1]
3. Sage 40 [1]
4. Old Westbury 31
5. St. Joseph's-L.I. 25
6. Mount Saint Mary 20
7. Mount Saint Vincent 10
(tie) Purchase 10
First-place votes in parentheses
The Gators return nine letterwinners from the 2012 team that finished the runner-up in the race for the league's championship crown and the ECAC Metro-NY-NJ Championship. Along the way, the Gators enjoyed an incredible run that included a school-record 29 wins, including another record with a streak of 13 straight victories, while playing in a program-best 46 games along the way.
Head Coach Jamie Brown's Gators distinguished themselves early on and often in 2012. As a team, Sage recorded more wins this season than any other team in the Skyline Conference with 29, while adding a .335 batting average, and connecting for school record performances that includes 299 runs scored, most hits 437, most doubles (89), most home runs (30), most RBI (269), most total bases (632), most shutouts (9), and lowest opponent batting average (.262). Brown was recognized by her peers with a selection as the 2012 Skyline Conference Co-Coach of the Year.
Among the top returning performers is outfielder and pitcher Rachel Smith (Valatie, NY/Ichabod Crane). A year ago, she penned her name to Sage's softball record book for her accomplishments both on the field and in the classroom. She was also named to the 2012 Capital One Academic All-America® Softball Third Team after also garnering the award as the 2011-2012 Sage Female Athlete of the Year. A 2012 Skyline Conference All-Star First Team performer, she set the Sage single-season records for home runs (9), at bats (169), and runs scored (43). For the year, Smith batted .363 with 58 hits, including 12 doubles and 9 home runs. She drove in 39 RBIs with a. 619 slugging percentage. She also turned a strong performance as a Sage pitcher. She went 13-8 with a 2.52 ERA in 111 innings of work with a personal-best 78 strikeouts. She hit successfully in all but five games last season and had 11 games with multiple RBIs, including a personal-best five RBIs in the Gators' 16-2 win over Skidmore.
Another key returning performer is senior Kelsey Newberg (New Britain, CT/New Britain). Newberg broke a pair of long-standing Sage strikeout records for both a season and career. She fanned 119 batters this year alone and brings 187 career strikeouts into the 2013 campaign. She became one of Sage's first players named to the 2012 Skyline Conference All-Star First Team as a utility player.
She went 16-9 on the season and her 16 wins in a season is also a Gator record. In the circle for Sage last season, Newberg fanned 10 or more b a t t e r s twice, including an 11-strikeout effort as Sage bested Cazenovia in the team's home opener. She added a pair of saves as well with a 3.08 ERA in 30 appearances. Newberg's success in 2012 was not limited to her time as a pitcher as she added a .306 batting average with 45 hits and 24 RBIs with 31 runs scored. She also boasts a number of Sage career records as well. She is No. 7 in career appearances, No. 8 in innings pitched (238.1), No. 24 in complete games, and No. 4 in career wins (20) and owns a 3.41 career ERA.
Also back is sophomore Kristen Beikirch (Brockport, NY/Brockport). She set the Sage single-season hit record with her team-best 62 hits, shattering the old record of 49. In addition to earning 2012 Skyline Conference Rookie of the Year honors, she was named the ECAC Metro Rookie of the Year. A multiple weekly award winner in 2012, she set a Sage single-season hit record with her team-best 62 hits. She also led the Gators with her .434 batting average in 46 games started. She scored 39 runs and drove in another 31, while adding a .622 slugging percentage.
She also led the Gators with her 16-19 effort on stolen bases. She hit successfully in 40 of Sage's 46 games this year and tied together a 19-game hit streak mid-season as well as 21 games with a multiple-hit effort at the plate. She was also placed on the Skyline Conference All-Star First Team at second base.
Junior short stop Hillary Faas (East Greenbush, NY/Columbia) returns as well for the Gators. She capped her sophomore season as the co-holder of Sage's single-season doubles record (15), while ranking No. 2 in at-bats (158), No. 2 in hits (59) and No. 5 in home runs (5). She drove in 41 RBI's which was second in the record book and was second on the team last season with 46 games at short. She had 20 multiple-hit games this season, while adding three doubles in game as Sage faced Mt. St. Mary College in conference play. On the season she batted .373, which was third best, while adding a .563 slugging percentage with 38 runs scored which was also third highest on the 2012 team. On her career, she also stands to make her own run as she is already No. 13 in career at-bats (239), No. 10 in career hits (88), No. 3 in doubles (21), No. 5 in home runs (8), No. 12 in runs scored (57), and No. 8 in career RBIs (57), all in just two seasons of work.
The Gators open the 2013 season travelling to Florida where they will compete at the Rebel Games. Among the 10 foes the team will face off against is the No. 2 nationally ranked Red Hawks of Montclair State University on March 14. The Gators will face 10 opponents on their spring training trip, March 10-15.
Sage is slated to host NYU-Poly in the team's 2013 home opener on Saturday, March 23 in a 1 p.m. Skyline Conference doubleheader with the Jays top open conference play. Action will take place at the Gators' home field, Robison Field at the Neff Center (Troy, NY) and the first 25 fans at the games will receive a free Sage Athletic window decal.
