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April 21, 2008
Petersburg, VA - The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association's Softball Coaches Association has selected this year's Softball All-Rookie Team and two Lady Broncos are on board. Freshmen Alicia Frank and Rahkee Smith were the two student-athletes from FSU selected to the 2008 CIAA All-Rookie Softball Team. Frank has been the Lady Broncos starting pitcher all year. She played in every game, struck out 22 batters, and posted a 17-5 record in the CIAA. The Sophia, NC native is credited with all 20 of the team's victories this season. Frank delivered on the offensive side as well; she led the team in RBIs with 41 and homeruns (4). Rahkee Smith, a native of Fayetteville, NC, was selected for her performance at shortstop this season. Smith had the highest batting average (.600), slugging percentage (1.800), and on base percentage (.600) for the Lady Broncos squad. She was second on the team in RBIs (30) and atop of the assist category with 62. This was the first season for the all-rookie selections and their head coach, Miguel Justiniano, Jr. When asked about his student-athletes being recognized by the conference, Coach Justiniano, who is affectionately known as "Coach Who", had this to say: "I'm very proud of my players, their accomplishments, and our season". "We had a lot of growth this year and I anticipate moving further along next year; I'm looking to build a strong softball program here at Fayetteville State". Fayetteville State finished the regular season at 20-16 overall and 17-5 in the conference. The Lady Broncos earned a 10-2 win over Elizabeth City State University on the opening day of the 2008 CIAA Softball Championships, which took place April 17-19 in Petersburg, VA. FSU fell into the loser's bracket after a 2-0 loss to Virginia State University.
The team defeated Saint Augustine's College 12-2 in the second day of competition. Unfortunately, the Lady Broncos would be eliminated by an 8-5 loss to Johnson C. Smith University. |
