May 13, 2008

BEVERLY, Mass. - Endicott College sophomores Merry MacDonald (Braintree, Mass.) and Maria Mangine (Lockport, N.Y.) were recognized for their outstanding performances in the NCAA Division III Regional Tournament by The Commonwealth Coast Conference Commissioner Greg Kaye on Tuesday. MacDonald was selected as the conference's Player of the Week, while Mangine was named the Pitcher of the Week.

MacDonald had an excellent showing in the NCAA Regionals, leading all players in total bases with 14, while also tying for the lead in both hits (7) and home runs (2). She had a team-high .467 batting average and a .933 slugging percentage. She delivered home runs in each of the tournament's final two games, including a game-tying homer in the bottom of the fifth inning during the Regional Championship.

Mangine was strong in all three of her tournament outings, including two complete-game shutouts. She had a tournament best 0.67 ERA (minimum 7 innings pitched). She tossed a three-hit shutout against St. John Fisher in the loser's bracket finals to lift the Gulls into the Regional Championship. Overall she was 2-1 with 13 strikeouts in 21 innings of work.

Endicott finished the season at 41-6, becoming the winningest team in the school's history, while also capturing their sixth-straight TCCC Championship.