2017 FPN Preseason NCAA DIII All-American
BOSTON – For the first time in Suffolk softball history, two student-athletes have been recognized prior to first-pitch of the season with Delaney Sylvester and Jill Pulek earning Fastpitch News (FPN) Preseason NCAA DIII All-American recognition. In the list the organization announced Tuesday morning, Sylvester earned a spot on the second team, while Pulek grabbed honorable mention nods.
Sylvester and Pulek were dynamic ingredients to the winningest team in Suffolk softball's 32-year history last season. The duo possess the most potent bats for the Rams hitting well over .400, slugging more than .700 and boasting a .500 and above on-base percentage. Their numbers were not only one-two on the squad, but also sat among the top five amongst the GNAC. The pair, who each earned NFCA All-Northeast and All-GNAC recognition a year ago, combined for 33.4 percent of Suffolk's total RBI in 2016, helped the Rams to their second straight GNAC regular season title.
Sylvester, an honorable mention NFCA Northeast selection and All-GNAC first team honoree in 2016, enters her junior campaign in blue-and-gold already with her name across Suffolk's career annals. In just 81 games played, the Worchester, Massachusetts, native sits fourth in batting average (.447), home runs (12) and sac flies (6), fifth in slugging percentage (.676) and eighth in RBI (83). In the field lists, the catcher is second in fielding percentage (.977) and seventh in put outs (361). Last season as a sophomore her numbers were scattered across Suffolk's single-season records; second in hits (62), fifth in batting average (.492), tied for third in homers (8), sixth in RBI (46) and eighth in on-base percentage (.542).
Pulek, meanwhile, is coming off a standout first collegiate campaign. The All-NFCA first team selection as Designated Player put together a .465 batting average, which broke into the Rams' single-season top-10. The first-team All-GNAC selection had a total of 20 extra base hits in her rookie season, including eight homers tying the third most in the blue-and-gold's single-season records. The lefty batter's on-base percentage of .545 paved the way in the conference, while she slugged a team-best .798, good for third in the league. The Cheshire, Connecticut's slugging percentage lands 10th on Suffolk's single-season list, while her on-base percentage is good for eighth in the season annals. Pulek brought in the 10th-most runs in a single-season in Suffolk history, 38, on 53 hits and scored 46 times herself, the second most in a single-season for a Ram. In just 39 games played and 114 at bats, Pulek became the first Ram to earn a spot on the NFCA All-Northeast Region First Team since Erin McAnders '14 did so in 2014 and added another first along with Sylvester as the first Suffolk student-athletes to be recognized as Preseason All-Americans.
Under the guidance of fifth-year head coach Jaclyn Davis, Pulek, Sylvester and the Rams will open up the 33rd season of Suffolk softball at the Tucson Invitational March 11 with first-pitch schedule for 1 p.m. (EST) versus Central Iowa. The Rams will remain in the Cooper State for the next six days over which they will compete in a total of 10 games.