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Six Gators Earn All-NCAC Honors
May 10, 2006
CLEVELAND – Six Allegheny College Gator softball players have earned All-North Coast Athletic Conference honors, highlighted by the selection of senior Giannina Coccaro (Miami, Fla./Palmetto) as Pitcher of the Year and Rachel Ryan (West Salem, Ohio/Northwestern) as Newcomer of the Year.
Coccaro led three Gators on the All-Conference First Team, as Ryan and Brittany Rechtin (Spring City/St. Pius X) each earned the First Team Honors, while Crystal Ptacek (Allison Park/North Allegheny) was named to the second team. Abby Bodenlos (Pittsburgh/Shady Side Academy) and Sarah Piranian (Mars/North Allegheny) were named to the Honorable Mention team.
Coccaro, the team’s only senior, ended the season with a 1.81 earned run average and had an 8-9 record with 137 strikeouts in 116.1 innings of work. The 2003 NCAC Pitcher of the Year, Coccaro ended her four-year career with 504 strikeouts and a 47-31 career record.
Ryan, a freshman shortstop, was the team leader in batting average, hitting .423 with a team-high 39 runs scored. She hit nine doubles and five triples, all team highs, while also driving in 22 and hitting three home runs. She had a .650 slugging percentage and stole 12 bases in her 16 attempts.
Rechtin, a freshman firstbaseman/pitcher, earned the utility spot on the first team. She was 4-5 as a pitcher with 28 strikeouts in 51 innings, while batting .252 with 14 runs batted in and nine runs scored.
Ptacek, a sophomore catcher, finished the year second on the team in batting, hitting at a .344 clip, while driving in 21 and scoring a doezen times. She also recorded six steals in her seven attempts.
Bodenlos, a sophomore second baseman and captain, set the single season NCAC steals record as she pilfered 22 bases, without being picked off. She was also the team leader in runs batted in (29), and home runs (4), while having the third highest batting average on the team, .315. She scored 31 times on the season, with seven doubles and a trio of triples.
Piranian, a freshman center fielder, batted .244 on the season with a home run and 17 runs batted in. She scored 17 times, and stole eight bases in 10 attempts. She had five outfield assists on the year, and a fielding percentage of .966.
The Gators ended the 2006 season with a 19-21 record, missing the NCAC Tournament via a tiebreaker.