LOUISVILLE, Ky. (5/10/23) – Just prior to their second consecutive trip to the NCAA DII East Regional Tournament, the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) officially revealed their selections to the 2023 NFCA Division II All-Region teams, naming junior Ashley Cangiano (North Attleboro, Mass.) to First Team and sophomore Bella Williams (Phoenix, Ariz.) to Second Team.

As voted upon by NFCA member head coaches, the two Raven honorees were included in a comprised list of 204 total student-athletes from 112 different programs. Cangiano is receiving All-Region recognition from the NFCA for the third time in her collegiate career, while Williams is a first time selection. Both are also now eligible for 2023 NFCA Division II All-America squad ballot.

Ashley Cangiano recently became the first player in program history to receive Player of the Year honors from the Northeast-10 Conference. This season, as a catcher, she ranked as the conference leader in nearly every offensive category, including .444 batting average (.444), on-base percentage (.537) and slugging percentage (.854). Additionally, Cangiano also topped the leaderboards in total hits (64), runs (49), home runs (10) and RBI (54). In addition to receiving top honors from the conference, Cangiano also became the program's all-time leader in career RBI (95), while also setting new program records in single season RBI (54), and single game RBI (8) throughout the season.

Williams became a two-time All-NE10 honoree with her selection to the conference Third Team, adding to her previous naming to All-Rookie as a freshman. As an outfield selection to the All-Region Second Team, Williams set her personal bar even higher this season with the second-most hits on the team (56), which included four home runs and 31 runs batted in across 48 total games played. Of her hit totals, Williams led the program with 15 doubles, and also ranked third in batting average (.376) and slugging percentage (.611).

No. 6 Pierce Softball prepares for their first matchup in the NCAA DII East Regional at Wilmington, Delaware on Thursday, May 11^th against No. 3 Georgian Court University (CACC) at 11:00 AM.