PHILADELPHIA – Four players will join the La Salle softball team in 2011-12, announced by Head Coach Brianne Brown. The group includes three well-regarded pitchers along with an all-conference outfielder.
“I'm real excited for the four freshmen coming in,” Brown said. “I'm looking for them to make a huge impact on our team right away. With our pitching staff graduating last year, the pitchers coming in will have a chance to compete and make an impact.”
Alyssa Bitsimis (Dix Hills, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills West) joins the Explorers from Long Island, where she was one of the top players in Suffolk County. Bitsimis pitched Half Hollow Hills West to a 19-1 regular season record in 2011 and a League IV championship title. The League IV Player of the Year also earned All-State honors as a senior. Bitsimis is a three-time All-League pick, two-time All-Suffolk County and All-Long Island honoree. In addition to league player of the year honors, she was also the Town of Huntington Player of the Year as a senior.
Her numbers are outstanding. She set her high school record for most wins in a season (20) and posted a total of 63 career wins in the circle. She posted a county-high-tying seven shutouts in 2011 with a 1.08 ERA. Bitsimis also brings power to the plate, as she batted .652 her senior year to register the third-highest batting average in Suffolk County. She earned team MVP honors all four years of high school and was a four-year Scholar-Athlete. Bitsimis also played four years of volleyball, earning All-League and team MVP honors. She also competed in two seasons of gymnastics, two seasons of winter track and one season of basketball.
Kristin Travers (Eatontown, N.J./Red Bank Catholic) brings more power into the pitching circle for 2012. Travers, a four-year All-Shore pitcher, led Red Bank Catholic to three Shore Conference titles and the New Jersey state title as a freshman in 2008. Travers is a four-time All-Shore, All-Division, All-Monmouth County and Non-Public A state pick. She posted a career-best 1.45 ERA as a senior in leading the Caseys to a 21-5 record and division championship. As a junior in 2010, she pitched her team to an 18-5 record and Shore Conference title. She led the Caseys to a conference title her sophomore year as well.
Travers also packs a punch at the plate, batting over .400 all four years of high school. She posted a career-best .494 batting average as a freshman in 2008. As a senior, she blasted out 35 hits with 30 RBI for a .423 average. She smacked 40 hits with 27 RBI and stole 20 bases as a junior. She posted a career-best 21 stolen bases as a sophomore along with a career-best 43 hits as a freshman. Travers also competed on Red Bank Catholic's field hockey team.
Alicia Aughton (Moon Twp., Pa./Moon Area) rounds out the trio of pitchers coming in. The 2011 Moon Area High School MVP was a two-time Pittsburgh Post-Gazette All-Section Pitcher and four-time Allegheny Times All-Star Team selection. She was named to Allegheny Times “Athlete of the Week” several times throughout her four-year career. The 5'11 hurler has a commanding presence in the circle, and pitched to a scant 0.90 ERA as a junior in 2010.
The four-year varsity starter also played basketball for Moon Area. She is also strong academically, earning high honor roll all four years and a number of academic honors, including the Exemplary Academic and Presidential Academic awards.
Linnette Siedler (Jackson, N.J./Jackson Liberty) is the second Shore Conference recruit for 2012. Siedler joins the Explorers from Jackson, N.J., where she earned All-Division honors three times in her career. She was also an All-Ocean County pick twice and two-time All-Shore Second Team honoree. She led Jackson Liberty to the 2009 Jersey Shore Carpenter Cup.
Stay tuned to GoExplorers.com for complete La Salle Softball information.
