Record-Setting Nine Lions Receive All-PSUAC Softball Recognition

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Penn State Brandywine set a conference softball record as it received nine all-conference selections from the Penn State University Athletic Conference when the awards were announced by the league on Thursday.

First Team All-PSUAC selections included senior Arianna Segich (Ocean City, N.J./Ocean City), junior Nikki Velez (Gloucester, N.J./Gloucester City), sophomores Rachel Cherubini (Pottstown, Pa./Pottsgrove) and Haley Grossi (Monmouth Junction, N.J./South Brunswick) and freshman Fiona Warren (Schwenksville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley).

Brandywine also received four honorable mention honorees in senior Maddie Malfara (Ardsley, Pa./Abington) and freshmen Cara Fabiano (Bristol, Pa./Bristol), Alyssa Sullivan (Pennsburg, Pa./Upper Perkiomen) and Alexandra Szpindor (Pottstown, Pa./Pope John Paul II).

Segich is now a four-time First Team All-PSUAC honoree and an eight-time all-conference recipient overall (four All-PSUAC women's soccer awards) during her time at Brandywine. She broke her own team record for stolen bases with 54 this season and owns 151 during her career. Segich also became Brandywine's first softball player with 200 career hits after adding 49 to her total this spring.

Once again, Segich has been one of the top offensive threats in the PSUAC, leading the league in steals, while ranking third in hits and runs scored (43). She owns a .386 batting average overall after batting .513 (20-36) in 12 league games.

Velez, who is also a first team all-conference basketball player at Brandywine, recorded 25 hits in 33 starts at shortstop for a .294 batting average. She enters the weekend needing five hits to reach 100 for her career.

Velez ranked fourth on the team with 23 runs scored and drove in 10 runs with seven of those RBI coming in conference games.

Now a two-time First Team All-PSUAC performer, Cherubini tallied 32 hits and ranked second on the team with 36 runs scored. She also stands third in RBI with 27 and was successful in all 10 stolen base attempts this spring.

Cherubini leads all PSUAC players in walks with 23 and posted an on-base percentage of .413. She recorded nine two-hit games during Brandywine's final 21 contests.

Grossi claimed her second all-conference award after earning honorable mention as a freshman. Grossi produced 23 hits, including five for extra bases, while scoring 21 times and knocking in 16 runs.

Against PSUAC foes, Grossi was a .300 hitter, collecting seven RBI in 12 games.

After working her way into the starting lineup in the middle of the season, Warren hit safely in 13 of the team's final 19 games. Against PSUAC competition, Warren was a .310 hitter and collected five of her six RBI in 12 contests.

Overall, she batted .296, scoring 15 runs, while stealing two bases.

Malfara became the sixth Lion to collect 100 career hits this spring after producing 26 knocks in 36 games. She stands third on the team with seven extra-base hits, five of which came in PSUAC games. Malfara also totaled 16 runs scored, while knocking in 14 runs.

Fabiano tied for fourth in the PSUAC with a team-high 10 wins in the circle. She pitched 10 complete games and struck out 52 batters in 103 innings. Against the PSUAC, Fabiano was 5-1, posting a 2.93 earned-run average in six appearances. In addition, Fabiano received the John Fritz Sportsmanship Award from the PSUAC. Named after former PSUAC Commissioner John Fritz, the sportsmanship award is given to one player from each team in the league who best displays the core values of the league and sportsmanship to teammates and opponents throughout the season.

Sullivan batted in the middle of the Lions' lineup all season, tying Szpindor for the team lead with three home runs, while ranking sixth in the league with 34 RBI. She hit in 15-straight games from March 28 - April 16, collecting 43 hits, the eight-highest total in the PSUAC, overall.

Szpindor also had an immediate impact on the lineup as she ranked among the top five in the conference in nearly every offensive category. In 36 games, Szpindor was second in the PSUAC with 50 hits, third in RBI (39), while standing fourth in batting average (.439) and fifth with 17 extra-base hits. Szpindor also made 16 appearances as a pitcher, totaling five wins, one save and 30 strikeouts in 75.0 innings.

Brandywine (20-16) faces Penn State Beaver in the PSUAC Tournament on Sunday at 1:00 pm in DuBois, Pa.