FLUSHING, N.Y. (May 16, 2023) – Following a thrilling finish at the 2023 CUNYAC Softball Championship, the conference is excited to announce its end-of-year awards, as voted upon by the league’s head coaches.
 
John Jay swept all four major awards. Maleea Gallaspy was voted Player of the Year, while Jailene Santiago was selected as Pitcher of the Year and Kelly Fajardo was tabbed Rookie of the Year. Bloodhounds head coach Erin Layton was voted by her peers as the Coach of the Year.
 
Maleea Gallaspy, So., John Jay
Gallaspy has been one of the premiere hitters in the country this season. A two-time CUNYAC Player of the Week honoree, the sophomore leads the nation in batting average (.577), doubles (32) and total bases (125) while ranking No. 2 in hits (79) and on-base percentage (.611).
 
Jailene Santiago, Gr., John Jay
Santiago has the seventh-most wins in the country this season in the circle (22) and ranks No. 9 nationally in strikeouts (213). She has five shutout performances on the year, including three no-hitters and a perfect game against Sarah Lawrence on Apr. 4.
 
Santiago won all three of her outings at the CUNYAC Championship while contributing six RBI across the three contests. For her efforts, she was named the championship’s Most Valuable Player.
 
Kelly Fajardo, Fr., John Jay
Fajardo had an excellent rookie campaign for the Bloodhounds. She appeared in 40 games, batting .354 with 45 hits, 30 runs scored and 21 RBI.
 
Erin Layton, John Jay
In her fifth season with the Bloodhounds, Layton led the program to its best season in over a decade. Under her guidance, John Jay has won its most games in a season since 2000, capturing the regular season title.
 
Most importantly, Layton led the Bloodhounds their first tournament championship in 23 years and just the second conference championship in school history.
 
2023 CUNYAC Softball All-Star Awards
Player of the Year: Maleea Gallaspy, John Jay
Pitcher of the Year: Jailene Santiago, John Jay
Rookie of the Year: Kelly Fajardo, John Jay
Coach of the Year: Erin Layton, John Jay



Sportsmanship Award: Tania Santamaria, Lehman
Sportsmanship Team: Bridget Campanelli, Baruch; Isabelle Frank, Brooklyn; Leah Dillon, Hunter; Jordyn Prince, John Jay; Andrea Wright, York
 
2023 CUNYAC Softball All-Star Team
Rylea Sandel, INF, John Jay
Paige Witalec, INF, Hunter
Kaitlyn Belfield, INF, Brooklyn
Megan Bell, INF, Baruch
Danielle Petrunti, INF, Baruch
Melanie Millan, INF, Brooklyn
Jessica Fowler, INF, Hunter
Patria Sanchez, INF, Lehman
Angelina Schoelles, INF, John Jay
Lizbeth Perez, OF, Lehman
Olivia Palumbo, OF, Hunter
Julia Cuttone, UTL, Baruch
Carly Quint, P, Baruch
Danielle Guzzardi, P, Brooklyn
Alyssa Curiale, P, Hunter














 

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