Louisville, KY — The National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) announced its Division III All-Region recipients Friday and among the 373 student-athletes selected across 10 regions, the Hawks earned three to the All-Region III team, marking the most in program history.
 
SUNYAC Pitcher of the Year Lindsay Roman and SUNYAC Player of the Year Jackie Rometo earned a spot on second team, while All-SUNYAC second team selection Jillian Shelbourne was named third team. The State University of New York at New Paltz has had two selected in a single season to the NFCA All-Region team twice in 2008 and 2010 but has never had three marking another milestone in a historic 2023 campaign.
 
Roman, Rometo and Shelbourne were the catalyst in the winningest season in program history with the team earning the first No. 1 seed in the conference tournament after winning the regular season crown at 16-2 overall and finished with the most wins ever at 31-13. The team also went on a program-setting 16-game winning streak through the middle of the season and won two games in the SUNYAC Tournament in back-to-back seasons for the first time ever as well.
 
Roman joins just Jillian Gallagher as a two-time All-Region recipient for the Hawks, as she was named to the second-team last season. The left-handed junior pitcher closed out a career season for SUNY New Paltz. She finished the season at 18-2 overall with a minuscule 1.44 ERA, allowing just 18 walks and 30 earned runs in 25 appearances and 23 starts with a WHIP of .89, allowing opposing batters to hit just .206 against her as she threw 145.2 innings with 110 strikeouts, owning four shutouts and 12 complete games.  
After not getting on any all-conference lists last year as a freshman, Rometo just continued building off a promising first-year to become the best player in the SUNYAC as a sophomore in 2023. She was the most consistent player at bat and in the field, leading the team with a .416 batting average and an OPS of 1.049 after starting all 44 games at left field. She paced her team in at-bats (145), runs (45), hits (64), doubles (14), triples (4), RBI (38), total bases (89) and steals (20), while finishing second in walks (12) and only having six strikeouts on the year. She finished with a slugging percentage of .578, on base percentage of .471 and in the field was near perfect with a fielding percentage of .983.
 
Shelbourne was another consistent presence in the lineup for SUNY New Paltz, as the junior captain made 43 starts at first base, appearing in all 44 games. She sat just behind Rometo in batting average, hitting .396 on the season with an OPS of .960, totaling 12 runs, 53 hits, 10 doubles, 25 RBI and a team-leading two home runs in 134 at-bats with 69 total bases and 10 walks. She finished with a slugging percentage of .515 and on-base percentage of .445 while striking out just six times on the year. In the field, she finished with a solid fielding average of .972 with six double plays turned, nine assists and 235 catches.  
 
The trio were joined by seven others from the SUNYAC including first-team selections, Julia Serena (SUNY Oneonta), Brooke Fraas (SUNY Geneseo), second-team Sydney Bielicki (Buffalo State), Delaney Haley (SUNY Oneonta), Kaitlyn Schmitz (SUNY Geneseo), Sara Cartier (SUNY Oneonta) and Sarah Congelosi (Buffalo State).
 
Only 23 teams had three players chosen, which includes SUNY New Paltz and SUNY Oneonta. NFCA member coaches nominate and vote for winners in their respective region. All honorees move forward to be considered for selection for NFCA Division III All-America honors, which will be honored May 31.
 
To read the official NFCA press release and view the full All-Region squads, click here.

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