As the Mercy College softball team begins play in the four-team East Coast Conference Championships as the fourth seed, three student-athletes were honored with All-Conference honors today. Earning First Team are junior shortstop Jenna Ausiello and senior centerfielder Chelsea Methot, while freshman Kelly Bentson is Second Team at first base.

The full, official release from the ECC can be found here.

The awards were announced today in conjunction with the 2011 ECC Championships, a double-round robin tournament held at Dowling College. The three-day event begins today. Mercy, the #4 seed, is 20-21 on the season, and faces top-seeded Dowling at 3:30 p.m.

Jenna Ausiello transferred to Mercy this season from Santa Rosa (Calif.) Junior College, and made an immediate impact. The Petaluma, Calif., product leads the team with 34 runs scored, and had 49 hits and a .398 batting average. A force in the middle of the lineup, she hits for power, too, with 12 doubles, one triple, and six homeruns.

Chelsea Methot ranks among the nations leaders in batting, on-base percentage, and home runs. A Second-Team All-ECC member a year ago, the Bristol, Conn., native is ranked 11^th in the nation in both batting average (.468) and on-base percentage (.546). She has 52 hits on the year, including 15 homeruns. She has scored 52 times and has 40 RBI. Her slugging percentage of .973 is the fourth highest total in the land. Defensively, she has a .969 fielding percentage.

Kelly Bentson, who hails from Brewster, N.Y., stepped into the starting lineup as a freshman, and hit .368, with 39 base hits, including eight doubles and four round trippers. She scored 20 times, and drove in 22 runs. In the field, she has a .983 fielding percentage. Additionally, she pitched 10.1 innings, with a 1-2 record and 4.74 ERA.

2011 ECC Softball All-Conference

First Team

C Emily Slack, Jr., Dowling

1B Carla Campagna, Jr., Molloy

2B Kendall Bright, Jr., C.W. Post

3B Nicole Hagenah, Fr., C.W. Post

SS Jenna Ausiello, Jr., Mercy

OF Jeana Frey, So., Molloy

OF Chelsea Methot, Sr., Mercy

OF Deana Tortorici, Jr., Dowling

DP Stephanie Tarango, So., Dowling

U Megan Butterworth, So., Molloy

P Felicia Mendoza, Sr., Dowling

P Jessie Stavola, Jr., Dowling

Second Team

C Nicole Capella, So., C.W. Post

1B Kelly Bentson, Fr., Mercy

2B Alexandra Sydor, Sr., Molloy

3B Haley Calderwood, So., Molloy

SS Nicolette Sinagra, Fr., Molloy

OF Carly Chamberlain, Fr., C.W. Post

OF Kerry Fisher, Jr., C.W. Post

OF Danielle Messina, So., Dowling

U Allison Breakey, So., Queens

P Christina Berardi, Sr., C.W. Post

P Kelly Jansen, So., Molloy

Player of the Year: Carla Campagna, Molloy

Pitcher of the Year: Jessie Stavola, Dowling

Rookie of the Year: Nicole Hagenah, C.W. Post

Coach of the Year: Susan Cassidy-Lyke, Molloy