Courtesy of the Big East
NEW YORK — BIG EAST Softball Championship No. 1 seed St. John’s proved to be the big winner on Wednesday as well, claiming three of the four major awards as announced by the Conference. Red Storm senior catcher Erin Burner became the first BIG EAST Player of the Year out of St. John’s since 2012 and the second overall, while Tori Free is the Red Storm’s first BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year. Sixth-year head coach Amy Kvilhaug also brings BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year honors to Queens, N.Y., for the first time. Seton Hall’s Alexis Walkden is the first Pirate to be named BIG EAST Rookie of the Year. Burner and Walkden were both unanimous selections.
Kvilhaug led the Red Storm to their first BIG EAST regular-season title in program history thanks to a team-record 16 league wins in 2015. St. John’s had never finished higher than second in BIG EAST play, including last season’s runner-up showing. The sixth-year head coach went 6-16 in her first season of BIG EAST action in 2010, catapulting St. John’s to 16-2 this year with the league’s top earned run average (1.40) and top batting average (.349). The Red Storm pitching contingent is the only BIG EAST unit with a sub-2.00 ERA, while their batting average is the only in the league above .320.
Burner anchors that offensive effort with her BIG EAST-best .477 average, also leading the league in runs scored (19), runs batted in (24), slugging percentage (1.114), on base percentage (.625) and walks (18), while ranking second in home runs (8). The senior catcher was tabbed BIG EAST Player of the Week twice this season and enters the postseason with nation’s 22nd-best batting average overall (.450).
Free boasted the top earned run average in BIG EAST play at a 0.90 clip — the only Conference pitcher with a sub-1.00 ERA. The St. John’s junior is just the second pitcher in the last four seasons to post a sub-1.00 ERA in BIG EAST action. Free was named BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week once this season and was an Honor Roll member twice. She enters the postseason with a 1.87 overall ERA and 10-6 record, making 21 appearances for 101.1 innings pitched with 107 strikeouts. She has allowed just 14 extra-base hits, lowest among BIG EAST pitchers with at least 50 innings to their credit this season.
Walkden is among the national leaders in home runs, ranking 20th among all Division I players with 20 jacks this season, including a BIG EAST-best nine in league action. The nine homers rank tied for fourth all-time in BIG EAST single-season history. The freshman third baseman leads Seton Hall with a .394 batting average over 20 BIG EAST games, while her 19 runs scored is tied for the Conference high. Walkden’s .879 slugging percentage lists second to only Burner, while her 58 total bases is tops among all league players. The rookie has helped lead Seton Hall to its most BIG EAST wins (10) and overall victories (24) since 2009. Walkden was also one of two unanimous All-BIG EAST First Team selections, along with Player of the Year Burner.
Each All-BIG EAST Team consists of 12 players: two pitchers; one catcher, first baseman, second baseman, short stop, third baseman, utility/pitcher, designated player/non-pitcher; and three outfielders. St. John’s led all teams with eight all-league selections including six first-team nods. Seton Hall’s three All-BIG EAST First Team players were second to the Red Storm, while Butler’s four total picks (two first team, two second team) were second most. Creighton and DePaul also had three selections apiece, with Providence boasting one player per team and Villanova earning one second-team selection.
BIG EAST Championship teams combined for 15 of the 24 All-BIG EAST selections. The two-day tournament in suburban Chicago at the Ballpark at Rosemont begins Friday, with No. 2 DePaul facing No. 3 Seton Hall in Game 1 at 1 p.m. (CT), followed by No. 1 St. John’s versus No. 4 Villanova at 3:30 p.m. (CT).
BIG EAST Player of the Year
Erin Burner, St. John’s, Sr., C*
BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year
Tori Free, St. John’s, Jr., P
BIG EAST Rookie of the Year
Alexis Walkden, Seton Hall, Fr., 3B*
BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year
Amy Kvilhaug and St. John’s
All-BIG EAST First Team
Tori Free, St. John’s, Jr., P
Francesca Carrullo, St. John’s, Sr., P
Erin Burner, St. John’s, Sr., C*
Krystal Puga, St. John’s, Fr., 1B
Morgan Maize, DePaul, Jr., 2B
Liz Dike, Creighton, Sr., SS
Alexis Walkden, Seton Hall, Fr., 3B*
Yasmin Harrell, Seton Hall, Jr., UT
Danielle DeStaso, Seton Hall, Sr., DP
Nicole Lundstrom, Providence, So., OF
Brittany Garcia, St. John’s, So., OF
Lauren Zick, St. John’s, Fr., OF
All-BIG EAST Second Team
Mary Connolly, DePaul, Sr., P
Kate Poppe, Villanova, Jr., P
Sabrina Kuchta, DePaul, Fr., C
Alex Kotter, Butler, Jr., 1B
Kristen Boros, Butler, Sr., 2B
Monique Landini, St. John’s, So., SS
Alyssa Lach, Butler, Fr., 3B
Blake Ringle, Creighton, Jr., UT
Kristie Dederick, Providence, Sr., DP
Brandyce Sallee, Butler, So., OF
Allie Reinhart, Creighton, So., OF
Yvonne Rericha, St. John’s, Jr., OF
*unanimous selection
