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2003 CUNYAC / Sprint PCS Softball FinalHawks Soar To Three-Peat
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| BOX-SCORE |
| ●Lehman-Hunter |
Staten Island, NY - Behind a stellar performance from junior starter Dara DeVincenzo (Jackson, NJ), Hunter College dominated Lehman College 9-1, in the 2003 CUNY Athletic Conference / Sprint PCS Championship final at the College of Staten Island. The Hawks represented the conference in the NCAA Championships for the third straight season.
DeVincenzo, a transfer from Brookdale Community College, gave up only three hits, one run, no walks and struck out seven batters in six innings on her way to being named Tournament Most Valuable Player.
"Dara is a tremendous pitcher," said Hunter head coach Betsy Hipple, who has guided the Hawks to the CUNYAC title in each of her three seasons on the bench. "She has amazing control and poise out there. She could be the best pitcher I'll ever have the pleasure to coach."
Hunter went right to work in the bottom of the first inning with junior 1B Jen Agosto (Brooklyn, NY) and freshman SS Kari Porto (Staten Island, NY) scoring on a triple from sophomore DH Cynthia Cabrera (Bronx, NY). Cabrera, the 2002 CUNYAC Tournament MVP, scored on a single by sophomore catcher Samantha Grabkowitz (Bayside, NY) on the next play. Despite a 3-0 lead, the Hawks continued to hit Lehman senior starter Erika Noriega (Bronx, NY), scoring two more runs on a Porto single in the bottom of the second inning. With a 5-0 lead, DiVincenzo (16-7) mowed down the Lightning, only facing 24 batters in the afternoon.
"It's awesome to be able to get back to Nationals," said DeVincenzo, whose previous team won the National Junior College (NJCAA Division III) title last season.
"This team has a lot of confidence now, and we're behind one another 100
percent. We played good team softball all week."
Lehman (14-10) got on the board in the sixth inning when senior CF Mechelle Barnwell (Bronx, NY), an All- American in Indoor Track this past March, singled and scored on a double by senior shortstop Sakeena Esteves (Bronx, NY).
In the bottom of the sixth, leading 7-1, Hunter rallied to put the game away as Agosto, who is also a member of Hunter's two-time CUNYAC basketball championship team, walked with one out. Porto (5 RBIs) got her third hit of the day, followed by Cabrera's second single, plating Agosto. With Porto on third, a wild pitch by Noriega to Grabkowitz let the winning run score, as the 8-run mercy rule came into effect - just before a thunderstorm was looming in the air.
"We keep getting better every year," said senior 3B Cagla Boz (Brooklyn, NY), the only four-year senior on the squad.
"This team is very balanced and gifted and there's no reason why it can't continue in the NCAA's
and into next season."
| BOX SCORE | ||||||||||
| School | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
| Lehman | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| Hunter | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | - | 9 | 12 | 1 |
WP: Dara DeVincenzo, Hunter
LP: Erika Noriega, Lehman
Hunter Softball Stopped At 2003 NCAA Division III Tournament
Hunter College (22-13-1) capped a successful 2003 campaign by appearing in the NCAA Division III Tournament for the third consecutive season. The national playoff bid came on the heels of the squad's third straight CUNY Athletic Conference Championship.
Hunter was sent to the Mahwah, NJ, campus of Ramapo College for one of the eight six-team regional rounds whose winners would advance to the College World Series finals a week later. The Hawks drew Centennial Conference champion Muhlenberg College in the opener.
A tight pitchers duel gave way to an offensive outburst by fifth-seeded Muhlenberg in the top of the third inning. The Mules used four hits (including two doubles), a passed ball, and a walk to put four runs on the scoreboard and take a 4-0 lead against fourth-seeded Hunter.
That margin remained intact until the bottom of the seventh inning when Hunter freshman shortstop Kari Porto (Staten Island, NY) doubled for her second hit of the contest. Senior shortstop Cagla Boz (Brooklyn, NY) singled to score Porto, but was then thrown out at second base to end the game with a 4-1 loss.
Moving into the consolation round a day later, the Hawks found themselves matched up against Capital Athletic Conference champion Salisbury University. After giving up a run in the bottom of the first inning, the Hawks would be touched for four in the third and three more in the fourth to fall by an 8-0 margin.
Senior rightfielder Vana Loukissas (Flushing, NY) and sophomore designated hitter Cynthia Cabrera (Bronx, NY) recorded Hunter's only hits against the second-seeded Sea Gulls, who would go on to take the regional title. Salisbury placed second at the College World Series the following week.
CUNYAC / Burger King Softball All-Stars
Hunter junior righthanded hurler Dara DeVincenzo (Memorial HS / Jackson, NJ) was named CUNYAC Player of the Year after leading the Hawks to the CUNYAC Championship with a 16-7 record and an amazing 1.13 ERA. The opposition batted .191, as she struck out 146 batters in 143 innings.
Theresa Caputo (Curtis HS / Staten Island, NY), a sophomore righty from Staten Island, was named Pitcher of the Year for the second consecutive season. Caputo had a 7-2 mark and held batters to a league-low .177 average. She had a 1.75 ERA in 60 innings pitched with 82 strikeouts.
Hunter shortstop Kari Porto (Port Richmond HS / Staten Island, NY) was named Rookie of the Year after batting .495 with 42 runs scored and 28 RBIs in her freshman season.
Her coach, Betsy Hipple was named Coach of the Year for the third straight season, as she has led the Hawks to three CUNYAC titles and three NCAA Championship appearances during that span.
CYNTHIA CABRERA SO. OF Hunter
TARA DEMPSEY SR. C Lehman
JAIME DESAPIO SO. C John Jay
JENNIFER DOSCHER SO. IF CSI
SAKEENA ESTEVES SR. IF Lehman
SAMANTHA GRABKOWITZ SO. C Hunter
ERIKA NORIEGA SR. P/IF Lehman
DONNA PRZYBYSZEWSKI JR. OF CSI
CAGLA BOZ SR. IF Hunter
NICOLE FASANO SO. P CSI
LORRAINE FUENTES FR. IF John Jay
JOSENNY HIDALGO SR. OF Lehman
JULIE LOWE SO. P/IF CSI
KATHY MAHER FR. P/OF Baruch
MONIQUE MUSTRULLI FR. IF Brooklyn
ROSE TEJADA FR. IF BARUCH
2002-Championship 2001-Championship
