Blagaich and Patton Earn All-BIG EAST Honors

South Bend, Ind. - DePaul freshmen Stephanie Blagaich and Amber Patton earned All-BIG EAST  Second Team honors as announced by the conference Wednesday at the annual softball championship banquet. 

Blagaich was named to the second team as a utility player after posting a 7-3 record in the circle and boosted a team high .351 batting average during league play. Blagaich finished out the regular season on a four-game hitting streak, going 6-for-15 at St. John's and Seton Hall.  She recorded three RBI, four runs scored, and four stolen bases in the last four games.

Patton was named to the second team at third base after leading the Blue Demons the entire season at the plate. Heading into the championship she is batting .320 and ranks ninth in the nation and leads the league with 20 sacrifice hits. Patton is also ranked sixth in the conference in fielding double plays.

Syracuse’s Alexis Switenko was named the 2006 BIG EAST Player of the year, while teammate Tonye McCorkle earned Co-Rookie of the Year accolades. Joining McCorkle as Co-Rookie of the Year is USF’s Cristi Ecks.  In addition, Louisville’s Catherine Bishop has been named the 2006 BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year, while the Cardinal coaching staff, under the direction of head coach Sandy Pearsall, has earned Coaching Staff of the Year accolades.  

Award winners are decided by a vote of the league’s 12 coaches, who are not allowed to vote for their own players.

The Blue Demons face No. 4 Syracuse on Thursday at 9:00 a.m. (CST). The championship features eight of the league’s 12 teams in a single elimination format at the Belleville Softball Complex. The winner of the DePaul/Syracuse game will face the winner of the Louisville/St. John’s game on Friday, May 12 at 3:00 p.m.

2006 BIG EAST Softball Awards

BIG EAST Player of the Year: Alexis Switenko (Syracuse)

BIG EAST Co-Rookie of the Year: Tonye McCorkle (Syracuse)  and Cristi Ecks (USF)

BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year: Catherine Bishop (Louisville)

BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year: Louisville

All-BIG EAST First Team

P - Catherine Bishop, P, Jr., LOU

P - Cristi Ecks, P, Fr., USF

C - Lacy Wood, C, Sr., LOU

INF - Meagan Ruthrauff, 3B, Sr., ND^

INF - Audrey Rendon, 3B, Jr., LOU

INF - Krista Holle, 3B, Sr., USF

INF - Meghan Morese, SS, Fr., VU

OF - Stephanie Brown, CF, Jr., ND^

OF - Tonye McCorkle, LF, Fr., SU

OF - Joey Scarf, LF, Jr., PITT

UTL - Alexis Switenko, UTL, Sr., SU^

DP -  Cassie Morales, DP, Sr., SU

^ - Unanimous selection

All-BIG EAST Second Team

P - Heather Booth, P, Sr., ND

P - Bree Spence, P, So., USF

C - Mallorie Lenn, C, Sr., ND

INF - Katie Laing, 2B, So., ND

INF - Sam Pittman, 2B, So., PC

INF - Jillian Ortega, SS, Fr., UConn

INF - Amber Patton, 3B, Fr., DPU

OF - Leslie Garland, RF, Sr., LOU

OF - Akoua Lonergan, CF, Sr., SHU

OF - Samantha Ray, CF, Sr., USF

UTL - Stephanie Blagaich, UTL, Fr., DPU

DP - Allie Gendron, DP, Fr., UConn

All-BIG EAST Third Team

Rachel Bartholomew, C, Jr., PC

Jenna Best, LF, So., SHU

Jessica Dignon, 3B, So., PITT

Erin Downey, P, So., SU

Kady Garrick, P, RS-So., LOU

Heather Kim, 1B, Fr., SU

Brittany Loisel, 2B, Fr., RU

Courtney Moore, SS, Jr., LOU

Elena Romero, UTL, Sr., PC

Sara Schoonaert, SS, Sr., ND

Michelle Vasquez, 2B, Sr., LOU

Laura Wolf, C, So., USF

* - Due to a tie in voting, one member has been added to the All-BIG EAST Third Team

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