Sports News: Spring 2007
Tuesday, May 8, 2007

FOUR GREYHOUNDS MAKE ALL-REGION TEAMS; PALY & DeBONIS NAMED TO NFCA ALL-REGION FIRST TEAM

STARKVILLE, MS --- Junior second baseman/shortstop Beth Paly (Whitehall, PA/Whitehall HS) and sophomore pitcher/designated player Maria DeBonis (Nazareth, PA/Notre Dame HS) of the Moravian College softball team have been named to the 2007 National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-East Region First Team announced Monday by the NFCA. Sophomore outfielder Erica Klepeisz (Nazareth, PA/Nazareth HS) earned a spot on the All-Region Second Team while sophomore pitcher Kristie Pellicani (Sparta, NJ/Sparta HS) was named to the All-Region Third Team.

By being named to the first team, Paly, pictured at right, and DeBonis, who was an at-large selection to the first team, are now eligible for NFCA All-American honors, which will be announced prior to the NCAA Division III World Series next week.

The Greyhounds won the team’s seventh straight Commonwealth Conference Tournament title and eighth straight Commonwealth Conference Championship and garnered the program’s tenth consecutive NCAA Division III Tournament appearance last weekend by winning the 2007 Commonwealth Conference Tournament. Moravian, which is 32-5 overall, will be in action this coming weekend at an NCAA Division III Regional being hosted by Montclair State (NJ) University. The Greyhounds, who are seeded first in the seven-team regional, will play either fourth seeded Ramapo College of New Jersey or fifth seeded Gettysburg College at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 10th.

Paly, who was a member of the NFCA All-East Region Second Team as a freshman in 2005, has a team high 40 hits to go with 26 RBIs, 18 runs, eight doubles, a triple, five homers and a .354 average this spring. Paly became the 23rd player in school history to surpass 100 career hits, passing the milestone in Moravian’s fourth game of the 2007 season.

DeBonis, pictured at left, is 16-2 with a 0.88 ERA, 11 shutouts, a no-hitter of Eastern University on April 24th, 159 strikeouts and 48 walks in 119 1/3 innings of action. DeBonis, who hits as the designated player when not pitching, has 26 hits, 15 runs, five doubles, a triple, two home runs and 17 RBIs this year.

Klepeisz, pictured at right, has 39 hits to go along with 27 runs, ten doubles, seven stolen bases, a triple, three home runs, ten RBIs and a .358 batting average. Klepeisz was on the NFCA All-East Region Second Team last year.

Pellicani, who was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2007 Commonwealth Conference Tournament, has posted a 16-3 mark and a 1.20 ERA with seven shutouts, a no-hitter of Hunter (NY) College to begin the season on March 2nd, a save, 93 strikeouts and 59 walks in 122 1/3 innings. Pellicani, pictured at left, also has a hit and a run scored at the plate.

The complete NFCA All-Region Teams can be found at http://www.nfca.org/pagebank/?id=1072.