Deer Park, N.Y. native led Stonehill to seven wins in eight games

EASTON, Mass. (April 8, 2014) – Stonehill College freshman Michelle Carbone (Deer Park, N.Y./St. Anthony's) has been named the Northeast-10 Conference Rookie of the Week for softball, it was announced today by the league office.

Carbone led Stonehill's offense this week with a team-high .364 batting average, including two doubles, a triple, and her first collegiate home run. She knocked in a team-best six runs, while slugging .682, drawing a walk and scoring four times.

Carbone also made three appearances in the circle (two starts), going 2-0 with a 2.50 earned run average and one complete game. She gave up five runs on 12 hits in 18 innings of work, striking out a team-high 11 batters and walking three while holding opponents to a .194 batting average.

Stonehill opened its week on Wednesday with a doubleheader sweep over Assumption College. Carbone earned the win in game two after taking over for starter Sarah Ropiak in the third inning with the Skyhawks trailing 3-1, and holding the Greyhounds to two runs on four hits over the final five innings as Stonehill came back to win 7-6.

The next day, Carbone led Stonehill to two more wins over Bentley University with an impressive overall effort. She went 3-for-7 at the plate with a double, a triple, two runs and four RBI while also earning the victory in game two of the twinbill to improve to 4-1. Carbone registered her first career complete game, giving up two runs on six hits to go with four strikeouts and two walks.

Stonehill extended its winning streak to five games on Saturday with a 4-2 victory in game one of the doubleheader against Le Moyne, before dropping game two by a 5-0 score. Carbone went 1-for-2 in the opener with a double and a run.

The Skyhawks wrapped up their stretch of eight games in five days on Sunday with another doubleheader sweep over The College of Saint Rose. Carbone went 1-for-3 in the opener with an RBI single, before going 2-for-3 in game two with a solo home run, the first of her Stonehill career.

A 2013 graduate of St. Anthony's High School in Melville, N.Y., Carbone played four years of varsity softball for coach Mike Massa. She was named All-Long Island second team as a freshman, sophomore, and junior, before being named to the first team as a senior.

Overall, Carbone is hitting .274 this season with ten RBI, which is tied for second on the team. She has also gone 4-1 in the circle with a 2.72 ERA, logging the second-most innings on the team (38.2) with 22 strikeouts, also good for second.

Stonehill (12-12, 7-3 NE-10), which had its scheduled doubleheader today at Assumption College postponed due to field conditions, will look to continue its winning ways this week with four more Northeast-10 contests. The Skyhawks are slated to travel to Bentley University on Thursday for a 3 p.m. contest and serve as the home team, before returning to Gartland Field this weekend for a three game series with Southern New Hampshire University.

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