Encarnacion, Caserta Earn Top Awards; Four Named First Team All-PSUAC

MEDIA, Pa. -- Penn State Brandywine junior Olivia Encarnacion (Glenolden, Pa./Interboro) was named Penn State University Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year and Head Coach Mark Caserta earned his second-straight Coach of the Year award as the league announced its year-end award winners on Monday.

Encarnacion was joined on the all-conference first team by sophomore shortstop Robyn Gannon (Lansdowne, Pa./Archibishop Prendergast), freshman catcher Steph Harvey (Berlin, N.J./Eastern Regional) and freshman center fielder Arianna Segich (Ocean City, N.J./Ocean City).

Encarnacion finished fourth in the conference with 10 wins, including a 7-1 mark against PSUAC competition. Her fourth shutout of the season came on Monday during the Lions' 8-0 victory over Penn State Beaver in the PSUAC championship game as Brandywine won its second-straight league title. The second consecutive player from Brandywine to be named PSUAC Pitcher of the Year, Encarnacion recorded a 2.99 earned run average along with 53 strikeouts and fired the second no-hitter in Brandywine history on April 13 against the University of Valley Forge.

Gannon batted .393 and tied Segich for the team lead with 44 hits, including six three-hit performances. A starter in 37 games, she also scored 37 runs, drove in 29 and stole 10 bases. Gannon is a career .411 hitter in 69 games over the last two years at Brandywine.

Harvey leads the team in hitting at .427 and posted the second-highest on-base percentage in the conference (.578) after leading the PSUAC in walks with 28. Eleven of Harvey's 36 hits were doubles and she also tallied 31 RBI and 27 runs scored in 36 games played.

Segich was among the national leaders in stolen bases all season, finishing first in the PSUAC and second in the USCAA with 28. She also led the conference in runs scored (44) and triples (6), while finishing second in walks (27). In all, Segich ranked among the top five in the league in nine different offensive categories. In 38 starts in center field, she recorded a team-leading four home runs and 30 RBI.

Caserta led Brandywine to its second-straight PSUAC Tournament title in 2016 after finishing first in the conference during the regular season with a 12-1 league record. Brandywine, which is 33-1 over the last two seasons against PSUAC competition, will enter the USCAA Tournament with an overall record of 22-16, one win shy of the school record set last season. In three years at Brandywine, Caserta owns a 59-45 record.

Brandywine faces Penn College in the opening game of the USCAA Tournament Monday morning at 10:00 am.