Northeast Conference Release
BROOKLYN, N.Y. -- The LIU Brooklyn softball team was honored with four of the Northeast Conference's major postseason awards, it was announced by the league office Wednesday afternoon.
Freshman Elena Valenzuela was named NEC Pitcher of the Year, while freshman Camryn Lyman earned Rookie of the Year accolades. Sophomore Alina Castillo was named the league's Most Improved Player, and the Blackbirds' coaching staff, under head coach Roy Kortmann, was named the NEC's Coaching Staff of the Year.
In addition, Castillo and Valenzuela were named to the All-NEC First Team, along with junior Patricia Griffin and freshman Samantha Garcia. Lyman, who was the Blackbirds' sole representative on the second team, was joined on the All-Rookie team by Garcia and Valenzuela. The five honorees is tied with Saint Francis U. for tops in the NEC this season.
Valenzuela has had a season for the record books, going 17-3 with two saves, a 2.00 earned run average and 77 strikeouts in 150.2 innings. The Whittier, Calif. product also produced 15 complete games and seven shutouts, en route to five NEC Pitcher of the Week awards and four Rookie of the Week nods. She led the league in wins, saves, ERA, complete games and shutouts, while ranking second in innings pitched and batting average against (.232). Against the NEC, Valenzuela was even stronger, going 7-0 in nine appearances, with a 1.77 ERA and 25 strikeouts. Valenzuela is the latest in a long line of top flight Blackbird hurlers to claim this award, and the first NEC freshman to do it since RMU's Nicole Sleith in 2012. Previous LIU winners of the award were Crystal Eubanks (2000), Jackie Brown (2001), Jessica Busick (2002), Jenny Giles (2006 & 2007), Blaire Porter (2008, 2009 & 2010) and Erynn Sobieski (2016).
Lyman hit .362 in her rookie season with 28 runs scored. The freshman second baseman and All-NEC second teamer earned back-to-back NEC Rookie of the Week honors over the final two weeks of the regular season. Lyman wrapped the regular season with a .432 on-base percentage and .362 average to rank seventh and eighth on the circuit, respectively. She hit .429 in league play, including a .487 average with five games of three hits or more in her last 10 contests entering the NEC Tournament. Lyman became the seventh NEC Rookie of the Year in Blackbird history - and third in the last five years – joining Kim Schumm (1997), Crystal Eubanks (2000), Sayde Marzolf (2001), Jessie DePippo (2004), Victoria Zamora (2015) and Ryleigh Bermea (2018).
After hitting .259 last season as a freshman, Castillo raised her average up to a team-leading .369 this year by finishing the regular season on a 14-game hit streak. During her 14-game run, Castillo has hit .500 with a pair of homers and 18 RBI. Her improvement was not just limited to year-to-year, but also within the season. After batting just .273 in March, the Blackbird third baseman, who hails from California's state capital, hit .426 in April, winning a pair of NEC Player of the Week honors in the process. Castillo, who also ranks in the conference top-10 in on-base and slugging percentage, earned a spot on the All-NEC first team, becoming the third different Blackbird third baseman in the last four years to be named a first teamer.
Meanwhile, LIU Brooklyn's coaches were recognized as the NEC Coaching Staff of the Year. The staff, led by longtime Blackbird head coach Roy Kortmann, and flanked by assistants Bill Gehrke, Andy Russo and Lauren Morizi, helped lead the Blackbirds to a second regular season title in the last four years and the top seed in the NEC Tournament. It marks the 10th time in the history of the award that the LIU Brooklyn staff has taken home the league's top coaching honors.
The Blackbirds only repeat All-NEC player, Griffin moves up from the second team in 2018 to the first team this year. The Marlton, N.J. native hit .345 in the leadoff spot, with 57 hits, ranking her first on the Blackbirds and top-five in the NEC. She was also perfect in the outfield, with a 1.000 fielding percentage and five outfield assists.
Garcia, a freshman from West Covina, Calif. hit .271 and led the Blackbirds with five home runs in her first season behind the plate in Brooklyn. She had five doubles and had 27 runs batted in, while splitting her time between catcher and designated hitter. Garcia also had a .327 average in NEC competition with 13 runs batted in.
LIU begins NEC Tournament action on Thursday, May 9 at LIU Field against No. 4 Mount St. Mary's. First pitch is scheduled for 12 p.m. For more information on the tournamen, visit the Northeast Conference's Tournament Central page.