St. Thomas Aquinas College will begin defense of its East Coast Conference softball title on Thursday when it meets Queens College in the first round of the conference playoffs.
After an 11-year drought from 2007-2018, STAC qualified for the ECC post-season tournament for the fifth straight season (not counting the 2020 season that was suspended by the COVID pandemic) after finishing the regular season as the conference's co-champs with a 16-4 record and overall mark of 29-19. The Spartans won their first ECC title last season.
By virtue of a tiebreaker system, the Spartans received the No. 2 seed and Molloy was awarded the top seed in the four-team, double-elimination tourney. In Thursday's first-round games, STAC will meet third-seeded Queens College (17-25) at 2:30 p.m. while Molloy (28-20) will play fourth-seeded Mercy University (14-26) at noon. The tournament will continue Friday and Saturday at Molloy's home field located in the Rockville Centre Sports Complex.
STAC won three of its four games this season against Queens.
"This is one of my youngest teams so I'm especially pleased with our success this season," said STAC Head Coach Kristen Sullivan. "We played a very difficult schedule that included two nationally ranked teams and a new preseason trip to South Carolina so it wasn't surprising that we got off to a slow start. Our lineup usually includes eight freshmen and sophomores so there's been a lot to learn and overcome. I'm very proud of the way we've improved over the course of the season."
STAC won just two of their first 12 games, but a seven-game win streak turned the season around. One of the trademarks of Sullivan's teams over the last five seasons has been outstanding pitching and this year was more of the same. Senior transfer Sarah Clancy emerged as one of the conference's top pitchers and sophomore Eliana Raposo gave Sullivan a good 1-2 punch for every doubleheader. Clancy enters the playoffs as the ECC's leader in wins, saves and strikeouts.
Raposo has also established herself as one of the ECC's best all-around players with impressive hitting and exceptional fielding in center field. She leads the team in batting average (.374), on-base percentage (.422), homers (7) and RBI (46). Elyse Marcano has also had a breakout season. The sophomore has set a new program record with 64 hits and enters the playoffs with a gaudy .370 average and .408 on-base percentage.
Senior Tara Hagan has had her best season of her four-year career with timely hitting and strong defense at first base. Freshmen Olivia Leon (2 HRs, 29 RBI), Jessica Feerick (2 HRs, 30 RBI), Aliya Feerick (.302) and Nayah Diaz (.267) have also made important contributions. Junior Amanada Demmerle leads the team in steals and shortstop Adriana Coira has been steady with the bat and glove.
Raposo, Marcano and Hagan all entered the program's 100-hit club during the season.
Defensively, Raposo, Marcano (second base) and Aliya Feerick (right field) have sparkled.
The Spartans are currently ranked ninth in the East Region poll that includes the 30 teams in the ECC, CACC and Northeast-10.
The ECC playoff champion will earn an automatic bid into the East Region tourney, which is scheduled May 9-11. The winner advances to the Super Regional on May 14-15. The NCAA Division II National Championship tournament in Orlando, Florida, begins May 19.
ECC Playoff Schedule (RVC Sports Complex - Rockville Centre, N.Y.)
ECC Softball Championship Tournament Central
Thursday, May 2
Game One: No. 4 Mercy vs. No. 1 Molloy – 12 p.m.
Game Two: No. 3 Queens vs. No. 2 St. Thomas Aquinas – 2:30 p.m.
Friday, May 5
Game Three: Game One winner vs. Game Two winner - 11 a.m.
Game Four: Game One loser vs. Game Two loser - 1:30 p.m.
Game Five: Game Three loser vs. Game Four winner - 4 p.m.
Saturday, May 6
Game Six: Game Three winner vs. Game Five winner -12 p.m.
Game Seven: if necessary - 30 minutes after completion of Game Six
All games will air live on ECC Sports Network. Match results, recaps, and photos will be posted throughout the day on ECC social media platforms. Be sure to follow the ECC on X, Instagram, and Facebook.