Newark Athletics

New Brunswick Athletics

Celeste Chinappi

One of the all-time greats in Rutgers-Camden softball history, Celeste Chinappi completed her brilliant four-year career as the Lady Raptors' shortstop last spring, having appeared in more games and collected more hits than any other player in program history.

During her last two seasons she led the Raptors to their only two NCAA softball tournament berths in program history, helping them win their first New Jersey Athletic Conference title in 2004 and their first NJAC regular-season crown in 2005.

Chinappi capped her senior season with Rutgers-Camden career records for games (170), at bats (531), hits (166), runs scored (93), sacrifices (25), hit by pitches (9) and defensive standards for assists (243) and double plays (12). She finished second on the career list for doubles (31), total bases (212) and RBIs (83), while placing third with 47 walks. She also holds the program record with a 17-game hitting streak, set in 2003. She holds, or is tied for, program single-season records with 47 games (2004), 149 at bats (2005), and nine sacrifices (2004), and is tied for the single-game mark of six at bats (May 7, 2005).

A team leader who served three years as one of the Lady Raptors' tri-captains, Chinappi hit .329 as a senior, when she finished second on the Lady Raptors with 31 runs, 49 hits, 71 total bases, 11 doubles and six sacrifices. She tied for the club lead with three HBP and she also hit the only three home runs of her career, including a grand slam against Cabrini College (April 6, 2005, Game 2). She was named to the Louisville Slugger/NFCA East Region Second Team, was a member of the NCAA East Regional All-Tournament team, captured All-ECAC Division III Metro First Team honors and was a New Jersey Athletic Conference First Team player for the third straight year.



On her way to All-NJAC First Team and ECAC Metro First Team honors as a junior in 2004, Chinappi hit .321 with 45 hits, 24 RBIs and 28 runs. She was named the NJAC Player of the Week May 3 and the ECAC Metro Player of the Week May 4.

During her sophomore season in 2003, Chinappi blossomed into one of the top players in the conference, earning her first All-NJAC First Team honor while batting .320 with her school-record 17-game hitting streak. She was named the school's Raptor of the Week on April 21 after going 9-for-18 (.500) to boost her hitting streak to 14 games. She also captured team MVP honors at the post-season awards banquet.

Chinappi broke into collegiate softball with a bang in 2002, earning All-NJAC Honorable Mention after playing outstanding defensive ball as a freshman shortstop. She hit 272 with 13 RBIs, 16 runs, five doubles, six stolen bases and 13 walks.

Chinappi lettered in both softball and field hockey at Gloucester Catholic High School, helping the Rams win the Parochial B state softball title in 2001. She earned All-Parochial honors from the Courier-Post newspaper in each of her last two scholastic seasons. She captured Second Team All-Tri-County Conference Royal Division honors as a junior and earned Honorable Mention Tri-County Conference Classic Division as a senior.

In addition to her leadership on the softball field at Rutgers-Camden, Chinappi also was a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).

A Sociology major with a Criminal Justice minor, Chinappi will graduate from Rutgers-Camden in May, 2006.

Megan Johnston

Megan Johnston, who returns for her second year on the Rutgers-Camden coaching staff, was a softball standout at on the scholastic and collegiate levels.

An outstanding pitcher at Bishop Eustace Prep in Pennsauken, Johnston earned South Jersey Player of the Year from both the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Courier-Post during her junior season, and added the Inquirer's Player of the Year honor as a senior. The All-State pitcher hurled the Crusaders to one state Parochial B and a pair of Parochial A titles. She compiled a 75-5 career record before graduating from Bishop Eustace in 1998.

Johnson played in three NCAA Regionals and was a four-time honoree as an All-Pennsylvania Athletic Conference player during her collegiate career at Cabrini College. She earned First Team All-American honors from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association during her junior season in 2001, and was the national Division III leader as a senior by going 149 at bats without striking out.

Johnston, who holds every Cabrini pitching record, recorded a 71-18 record during her career with the Lady Cavaliers, including a record 22 wins as a junior in 2001. She has three of the four best single-season ERA totals in school history, including 0.18 as a senior. She notched a 0.40 ERA with a school-record 14 shutouts as a junior and had records of 23 complete games and 172 innings pitched as a sophomore. She set a school record with a 50-inning scoreless streak as a senior.

Offensively, Johnston had a .394 career batting average. When she graduated, she held school marks with 227 career hits (now third on the career list), 143 runs (now second), 56 doubles (now second) and 14 triples (still the record).

Johnston graduated from Cabrini in 2002 with a Biology degree, then attended La Salle University to earn a degree in Nursing. She served two years as Cabrini's assistant coach while attending La Salle, and now works in the orthopedic wing at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.

Tom Tobin

Brian Wolverton