PSAC release

EAST STROUDSBURG – Junior Brittany Racek earned her second career all-conference selection and leads four players from East Stroudsburg University selected to the All-PSAC East second team following the 2010 softball season, it was announced Monday.

Racek was selected as a designated player after earning a spot as the first team shortstop as a sophomore. Junior outfielder Alicea Ashe, sophomore third baseman Rachel Gieringer and senior pitcher Jackie Battaglino were recognized as All-PSAC players for the first time after ESU qualified for the PSAC playoffs for the fourth straight season.

Battaglino (Old Bridge, N.J./Red Bank Catholic) led the Warriors in ERA and games pitched in both of her final two years at ESU and had 11 wins, two saves and a 3.93 ERA in 171.0 innings as a senior. Her 34 appearances were tied for the second-most in school history. She threw two shutouts, blanking Wheeling Jesuit (10-0) and Mercyhurst (1-0), and limited opponents to one run in six other starts, all complete games.

In her career, Battaglino is the school record-holder with five saves and is in the top 10 in strikeouts (7th, 190), games pitched (8th, 83), games started (9th, 53) and innings pitched (9th, 373.2). Her 171.0 innings this year were the sixth-most by a pitcher for the Warriors. She was also asked to contribute at the plate and had a .218 batting average and .311 on-base percentage, along with her only career home run.

Racek (Philadelphia/Little Flower) put together one of the top offensive seasons in school history despite an injury that limited her throughout the season. She competed in 32 games and was unable to play after April 7, but still set the school record with a .691 slugging percentage and had 16 extra-base hits (eight doubles, two triples, six home runs) and a .381 batting average, with 37 hits in 97 at bats.

Racek led the Warriors with 26 runs and was third with 18 RBI. She is in ESU's career top 10 in 10 offensive categories, including seventh in batting average (.341), second in slugging percentage (.522) and sixth in total bases (193) and extra-base hits (42). She has hit over .300 in all three seasons, with a .317 average while earning second team All-Region honors at designated player as a freshman, and a .336 average during her first team All-PSAC East campaign as a sophomore in 2009.

Ashe (Hyde Park, N.Y./Franklin D. Roosevelt) set the school record with 10 home runs as part of a standout offensive season and was the only player in the lineup in all 49 games as the Warriors' centerfielder. She led ESU with 32 RBI and 18 extra-base hits, both tied for the second-most in school history, compiling seven doubles, one triple and her 10 home runs among 44 hits.

Gieringer (Horsham/Hatboro-Horsham) was one of three players from her high school on the All-PSAC East team and was the division's Freshman of the Year last season. She hit .348, second on the team behind Racek, had a .404 on-base percentage, scored 23 runs and had 16 RBI. Gieringer hit .303 with a team-high 24 RBI as a freshman and has been the Warriors' top player in their last two playoff appearances, going 5-for-10 with two home runs in four games.

The All-PSAC teams are selected in each of the conference's three divisions, East, Central and West. There are 11 players on the first team – one at each infield position, catcher and designated player/utility, three outfielders and two pitchers. The next six vote-getters among position players are named to the second team, regardless of position, along with the pitcher who receives the third-most votes.