LANCASTER, Pa. - Haverford College was well represented when the Centennial Conference released its 2014 all-conference softball team on Monday morning. The Centennial champions nabbed five spots overall led by first-team selections Jen DiCandilo and Jill Schnall. Elizabeth Newman, Sara Tauriello and Emily Winesett earned second-team recognition.
Named to the first-team for the second consecutive year, DiCandilo has been a fixture in the lineup for the Fords throughout her career. The senior started 34 games at third base and extended her overall streak of consecutive starts to 145. An all-conference selection every year of her career, DiCandilo hit .312 for the Fords including a team-high nine doubles. DiCandilo has especially made a mark with her bat over the last four years as she will graduate as the program's all-time leader in sacrifice flies (13), doubles (44) and RBIs (118).
Earning all-conference recognition for the first time, Schnall had a breakout season as she paced the team in slugging percentage (.719), on-base percentage (.474), total bases (69), RBIs (29), walks (17) and home runs (9). Schnall, who entered the season with five home runs over the first two years of her career, tied for the Centennial lead in 2014 with a program-record nine homers including seven during conference play. Starting 34 of 36 games for the Fords including 30 starts at second base, Schnall was one of just three unanimous selections to the first team.
Newman led Haverford in batting average (.400), runs scored (29) and hits (42) on her way to her third straight all-conference campaign. The senior was an asset on defense as she owned a 1.000 fielding percentage over 35 starts in center field. Currently the program's all-time leader in batting average (.390), on-base percentage (.457) and runs scored (131), Newman went 6-for-10 over the course of the final week of the regular season as the Fords made their final push for a spot in the Centennial tournament.
Sophomores Tauriello and Winesett shined in the pitching circle for Haverford throughout its journey to the program's second conference title. Tauriello, who went 10-1 in 15 appearances, topped the league, and ranked 20th nationally, with a minuscule 1.10 ERA. The left-hander struck out a team-high 73 batters on the year and allowed just three earned runs over her final five regular-season appearances (29.2 innings). She then continued to impress in the Centennial tournament as she went 2-0 with 13 strikeouts. Tauriello's victory in the championship game moved her into second all-time in career wins (21) and she will begin play in the NCAA tournament as the program's all-time leader in ERA (1.54), opponent batting average (.207), and most strikeouts per seven-inning game (7.41).
Also continuing to make an impact in her sophomore season was Winesett. The right-hander ranked first on the team in wins (11), starts (13), appearances (18) and innings pitched (81). Winesett, who was also named to the all-sportsmanship team, did not allow an earned run in six of her final eight regular-season starts en route to ranking second in the conference in ERA (1.38). Winesett earned a victory against top seed Muhlenberg College on the first day of the conference tournament before picking up her first save of the season against Muhlenberg in the championship game the following day.
Franklin & Marshall College's Mallorie Sassaman and Mike Cooperstein were named the conference player of the year and coach of the year, respectively. McDaniel College's Caroline Brehm earned pitcher of the year honors for the third straight year. Jamie Abell of Gettysburg College was voted the league's rookie of the year and Washington College's Christine Anderson merited the scholar-athlete of the year award.
Haverford's season continues on Friday at Montclair State University when it begins NCAA regional play against Wheaton (Mass.) College at 1 p.m.