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Madsen named Player of the Year, leads list of six Bulldogs earning All-NEC honors
Posted: May 07, 2014

Madsen named Player of the Year, leads list of six Bulldogs earning All-NEC honors

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Highlighted by Northeast Conference Player of the Year Elle Madsen (Wheat Ridge, Colo.), the Bryant University softball team earned a pair of major awards and landed six on all-conference teams, announced the NEC Wednesday afternoon.

In just their first season at the helm, the Bryant coaching staff, led by head coach Shayne Lotito, was named NEC Staff of the Year after leading the Black and Gold to their first-ever NEC Regular Season Championship, while Madsen becomes the first Bulldog in program history to garner Player of the Year honors.

Along with the league's top individual honor, Madsen joins senior shortstop Aubrey Mable (Aurora, Colo.), senior catcher Kendall Corder (Carmichael, Calif.), junior outfielder Madeline Velasquez (Los Angeles, Calif.), and sophomore third baseman Hayley Bottino (Canyon Country, Calif.) as All-NEC First Team selections. Rounding out the Bryant honorees is senior outfielder Kristen Carter (Branchville, N.J.), who put together a breakout 2014 season en route to a Second Team All-NEC nod, the first of her career.

The most dominant player on the field at any given time, Madsen was voted NEC Player of the Year and an All-NEC First Team pitcher coming off one of the best seasons in Bryant softball history. In the circle, the sophomore hurler went 22-9, posting a 2.68 ERA with 137 strikeouts in 203.2 innings. At the dish, Madsen hit a team-best .347 (5th in NEC) with 50 hits, 10 doubles, 12 homeruns (first in NEC), 36 RBI (2nd in NEC) and 21 runs scored. She also set program records for wins in a season (22) and homeruns in a season (12) with the NEC Tournament still yet to be played. The honor marks the second-straight All-NEC First Team selection for the Wheat Ridge, Colo. native after earning the distinction last year in the Utility spot.

No stranger to the all-conference ballot, Mable earns her third-straight All-NEC First Team and fourth overall all-league honor. The four-year starting shortstop has appeared in all but four games since stepping on the Bryant campus back in 2010 as a freshman and is one of the most decorated players in program history. She currently ranks in the top five in every offensive statistical category, including first in homeruns (27), runs scored (137) and doubles (12). This season, she posted another Mable-like performance hitting .340 with 48 hits, 12 doubles, eight homers and 29 RBI. She also registered an astounding .977 fielding percentage while anchoring Bryant's prolific defense from the shortstop position.

Making her first appearance on an all-league squad is Corder, earning All-NEC First Team catcher after a stellar season behind the plate. The senior posted career highs in games played, at bats, runs scored, hits, doubles, stolen bases and batting average. She hit .333 on the season, ranking 9th in the NEC, while her 11 doubles are fourth best among league opponents. Most impressively perhaps, Corder has helped handle a young pitching staff consisting primarily of a trio of sophomores, posting a .986 fielding percentage behind the dish.

A first teamer as a freshman in 2012, Velasquez earns her way back on the All-NEC First Team as the Los Angeles native has put together a terrific junior campaign, thus far, while anchoring the near-flawless Bulldog outfield. Through 49 games, Velasquez is hitting .338 (8th in NEC) with a team-leading 54 hits (3rd in NEC), 13 doubles (2nd in NEC), four homers, and 36 RBI (3rd in NEC). The junior center fielder also posted a team-best 12 game hit streak during the latter part of April and is hitting an amazing .407 since April 1.

Rounding out the Bryant All-NEC First Team selections at third base is Bottino, who quietly put together a solid season handling the majority of the duties at the hot corner in just her first season in Smithfield. Bottino enters NEC Tournament action with a .289 average with 26 hits, eight doubles, five homers, 16 RBI and 20 runs scored, establishing herself as a force in the middle of the Black and Gold lineup. On the mound, Bottino emerged as a great second option down the stretch, compiling a 4.09 ERA in 12 appearances and 53 total innings.

The sixth and final Bryant All-NEC honoree and the lone Bulldog representative on the All-Conference Second Team, Carter earns the first all-league postseason honors of her career. The senior outfielder was instrumental  in Bryant's run through the regular season logging career highs in games played, at bats, runs scored, hits, doubles, homeruns, RBI and stolen bases. The New Jersey native is currently hitting .296 with 40 hits, three homeruns, 19 RBI and 23 runs scored. Carter leads the team with 10 stolen bases and has played nearly a flawless left field for the Black and Gold.

The top seeded Bulldogs enter this weekend's NEC Tournament looking to add to its best Division I season in program history, however first, they must faceoff with a very hot LIU Brooklyn team in the tournament's opening game, Thursday at 11:30 a.m. Winners of four of their last five NEC contests, the Blackbirds look to avenge a pair of losses in Smithfield from earlier this season when Madsen and the Bulldogs held them to just two runs all afternoon.

For links to Live Stats and streaming video of all the NEC Softball Tournament games this weekend and all the latest news on the Bryant University softball team, visit BryantBulldogs.com.