Alessandra Milardo and Lindsey O’Bright were key pieces of a St. Paul softball run to the Class S state championship game in 2017. Last week, the duo helped the University of Saint Joseph capture the Great Northeast Athletic Conference softball tournament championship.
Milardo came up huge at the plate for the Blue Jays in the 3-0 win over Simmons on May 4 in Boston, Mass. She was 2-for-3 with a single, double, stolen base and two runs scored.
Milardo singled to lead off the bottom of the second inning, then advanced to second base on a bunt single by Morgan Skoly. Milardo and Skoly executed a double steal, and Milardo came home to score the game’s first run when the throw to third base got away.
Milardo doubled to lead off the bottom of the fourth inning, then moved up to third base on a sacrifice bunt from Skoly. Amanda Thiel followed the sacrifice with a single to drive in Milardo.
Simmons had a runner on first with one out in the top of the seventh inning, but O’Bright snuffed out the final rally. The freshman catcher made a diving catch on a foul pop, then threw to first base to double off the runner and end the game.
For her efforts, Milardo was named to the GNAC all-tournament team. That followed an all-sportsmanship selection for Milardo, a sophomore. Milardo, O’Bright and their teammates helped the Blue Jays secure an NCAA Division III tournament berth. USJ opens play on Friday in a regional game against host Tufts University at 4:30 p.m. in Medford, Mass.
Matt Warren, Albertus Magnus College baseball
The junior and former Wolcott standout earned first team All-GNAC honors for the second straight season after posting another solid stat line.
Warren drove in a team-high 43 runs and finished with a .303 batting average, .423 on-base percentage and .532 slugging. He had 33 hits, including 12 doubles, two triples and three home runs. Warren scored 27 runs, walked 21 times, and stole five bases in six attempts.
Of the 14 hits Warren collected during conference play, seven went for extra bases (four doubles, two triples, one home run). He scored 14 runs and totaled 20 RBI against GNAC opponents.
Tyriq Harris, Albertus Magnus College baseball
The senior and former Wilby standout earned second team All-GNAC honors for the second time in his career.
Harris had a terrific batting average of .422, plus a .466 on-base percentage and .549 slugging. He collected 41 hits, including six doubles, three triples and one home run. Harris picked up his 100th career hit during the season.
He had 32 runs scored, 17 RBI, 12 walks and six stolen bases. Against GNAC opponents, Harris batted .408 with 20 hits, 15 runs scored and 10 RBI. On defense, he made just two errors in 79 chances for a .975 fielding percentage.
Ashley Elder, Southern New Hampshire University track and field
The senior and former Bristol Central multi-sport standout closed out the Northeast-10 Conference portion of her Penmen career with a first place finish in the shot put.
Elder won the shot put at the NE-10 championship meet with a throw of 47’0.75″. The win marked the 10th time that Elder had placed first in the shot put in the 2018-2019 indoor and outdoor seasons. She had finished second in the event at last year’s conference meet, but she wouldn’t be denied this time around.
Elder is also solid away from track and field. She earned academic all-conference accolades following the winter season with her 3.73 GPA.
Statistics, headshot photos and information compiled from the team website of each athlete.
