Coast Guard's Bastinck, Mystic's Cooper named Division III softball All-Americans

Coast Guard Academy's Holli Bastinck and Eastern Connecticut State University's Arielle Cooper have been named first team All-American by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA).

Bastinck, a junior designated player, became just the second Coast Guard softball player to earn first team All-America honors, joining Hayley Feindel, who received the award last season.

Bastinck helped the Bears win their third straight New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) tournament championship and led the conference with a .452 batting average and 70 hits. She tied for the conference lead with 10 homers while driving in 50 runs and leading the Bears with a .697 slugging percentage.

Coast Guard, the sixth seed in the NEWMAC tournament, won five straight games to win the championship and earned its fourth straight NCAA tournament berth. The Bears finished the season 28-19.

Cooper, a junior from Mystic, is the Eastern program's first third baseman to receive the honor since Michelle Cunningham was named to the second team in 1998.

Cooper had a program record 33-game hitting streak as well as setting a season mark with 123 total bases. She also tied the 26-year-old school record with 69 hits, tied the season record with a .783 slugging average and led all players with a .439 batting average. She was named MVP of the Little East Tournament and led Eastern to a program record 44 wins and a spot in the NCAA tournament.

- Day Staff Reports