COMPLETE NORTHEAST-10 RELEASE

SOUTH EASTON, Mass.—Junior second baseman Kelsea Cheney (Abington, Mass.), senior centerfielder Amanda Barton (Franklin, N.H.) and freshman pitcher Ali Maloof (Norwood, Mass.) of the Southern New Hampshire University softball team have all garnered Northeast-10 Conference All-Conference honors, as Cheney was named to the First Team, Barton earned Second Team honors, and Maloof was named to both the Third Team and the All-Rookie squad. 

It marks the second time in her career that Cheney has earned All-Conference recognition, as she was named to the Third Team last season.  Barton and Maloof earn the honor for the first time in their careers. 

Cheney has started all 46 games at second base this season and ranks second on the squad at the plate with a .356 batting average and 53 hits.  She has hit safely  in the last 11 games, which marks the longest hit streak of her career.  Cheney is in the midst of setting a new program record for homeruns in a season, as her current 14 homeruns bested the record of 12 set in 2010 and rank her second in the Northeast-10 Conference.  In the field, Cheney made just one error on the season and led all Penmen starters with a .997 fielding percentage. 

 Barton, who has started all 46 games this season, posted her best offensive effort of her career this season.  The senior ranks third on the team at the plate with a .324 batting average and a career-best 44 hits.  She hit safely in over half of the Penmen's schedule this season and posted a season-best 3-3 performance at the plate in SNHU's 4-3 win at American International College on March 31.  In the outfield, Barton made just two errors on the season to compile a .967 fielding percentage. 

Maloof earns Third Team and All-Rookie team honors after a stellar freshman season performance in the circle and at the plate.  The freshman leads the Penmen at the plate with a .371 batting average and a team-high 59 hits including eight doubles, three triples, and three homeruns.  She has totaled 17 multi-hit games on the season and posted a season-high four hits against Wilmington (Del.) in March.  Maloof is also 13-10 in the circle and ranks third in the Northeast-10 Conference in total strikeouts with 144. 

Southern New Hampshire enters the Northeast-10 Conference Championship tournament as the sixth-seed and travels to No. 3 Assumption this afternoon for a 2:00 p.m. single-elimination matchup.  The winner will advance to the four-team, double-elimination tournament hosted by top-seeded Southern Connecticut State on Friday, April 27-Sunday, April 29.