Galloway, N.J. – Three seniors from the Stockton University softball team were named
College Sports Communicators Academic All-District for the 2023 season. Outfielders
Gabrielle Barranger (Sicklerville/Haddonfield) and
Vanessa Tancini (Levittown, Pa./Harry S. Truman) and second baseman
Kayla Posten (Cherry Hill/CH West) received the CSC Academic District nods.
All three Ospreys collected academic all-district honors for the first time. Barranger, Posten and Tancini helped Stockton to 19 wins while facing the second-toughest schedule in NCAA Division III as well as an NJAC Tournament berth as the No. 4 seed.
Barranger, a Health Science major with a 3.70 grade point average, played in 36 games and made 29 starts in the outfield. The speedster led the team in runs (23) while batting .286 and finishing second on the squad in on-base percentage (.370) and stolen bases (8) plus tied for third in walks (8).
Barranger scored at least one run in 20 different games. She strung together a five-game hitting streak in March and an eight-game reached base streak in April. Defensively, Barranger recorded a .939 fielding percentage on 33 chances in the outfield.
Barranger played in 88 career games in three seasons at Stockton, where she transferred after playing at the University of Hartford as a freshman. She batted .273 with 38 runs, 33 hits and 16 stolen bases as an Osprey.
Posten, a Health Science major with a 3.90 GPA, started all 37 games in which she played, leading the team with 24 RBI and tying for the top spot with 10 walks to go with a .270 batting average, 14 runs, seven doubles, one triple and two home runs. She compiled a 10-game reached base streak that included a six-game hitting streak.
Posten drove in at least one run in 16 games, highlighted by four RBI versus Rutgers-Newark on April 11. She produced a stellar .973 fielding percentage, committing just three errors in 112 defensive chances at second base. Posten also helped turn three double plays.
Posten played 73 games in two seasons at Stockton after appearing in 50 games in two years at Barry University (Fla.). She finished her four-year college career with 97 hits, 59 RBI, 57 runs, 27 doubles and a .268 batting average.
Tancini, a Nursing major with a 3.75 GPA, led the Ospreys with 11 stolen bases and finished second on the team with a .341 batting average while playing in 36 games with 33 starts in centerfield. She scored 15 runs and compiled a .370 on-base percentage that ranked third on the squad.
Tancini hit safely in 21 games including seven multi-hit performances. She was nearly flawless in the outfield, with just one error in 71 chances for a lofty .986 fielding percentage.
In four seasons at Stockton, Tancini played in 106 games with 96 starts. A 2022 NJAC Second Team selection, she stands eighth in school history in stolen bases (41) and ninth in career batting average (.365). Tancini amassed 80 hits, 50 runs and 17 RBI and a .402 on-base percentage in a Stockton uniform.
