As �ֲ���ý softball celebrates its 50th anniversary, the program is moving forward with a significant transformation of its home facility at Lafayette Street Field — marking a major investment in the future of softball at �ֲ���ý. Fundraising efforts have met the $1 million dollar threshold thanks to gifts from a number of donors.

“I’m incredibly excited about what this project represents for our softball program and for the entire department,” said Director of Athletics Stacey Bunting. “As we celebrate 50 years of �ֲ���ý softball, this project both recognizes the program’s history and invests in its future, creating a space that will support championship-level competition and enhance the daily experience for our student-athletes.” 

Improvements include professional-grade drainage and installation of artificial turf. Drainage issues, along with lingering snow early in the season, have often required the softball team to travel for practice and games. Now they won’t have to.

“Turfing the field gives us consistency and a true home we can take pride in,” said softball Head Coach Kat McKay. “It will allow us to train as needed and compete at a high level regardless of the weather.”

There will be upgrades to the fencing and safety features. “It’s a much more modern, sleek, and functional look,” said Chris Streifel, director of capital planning and construction. “Definitely an improvement on the current chain link fence.” The field will be strategically reconfigured as well, with a new scoreboard in left field. Grandstand seating and a custom windscreen are also part of the improvements. 

Leadership Gifts Officer Chelsea Turner ’94, who played softball throughout her time as a student at �ֲ���ý, remembers a season the team traveled to Trinity College for their first game having never practiced outside. The weather and the field forced them to practice in Clifton Daggett Gray Athletic Building. Inspired by her experience as a player, Turner worked with donors on the project to transform the softball field. 

For softball’s coach, there’s no doubt this project is “transformational,” but McKay also points out that her players have “never made excuses — they’ve made it work everywhere — different spaces, different fields, tough conditions, even traveling for ‘home’ games.”

Trustee Jeremy B. Chase ’91 and Christine Werthmann Chase ’92 were lead donors for the project, sponsoring a match to help reach this initial goal.

The team is heading into their postseason, having swept Trinity in a double header on Senior Day at home, but Coach McKay is already anticipating the future, with gratitude. “This gives our current players — and our alumni — something they’ve earned after 50 years of softball: a home field they can be proud to call theirs. This elevates everything we do and sets us up for where we want to go as a program.”

In softball, the art of slap hitting involves getting a running start and, in the words of 19th-century baseball star “Wee Willie” Keeler, “hitting ’em where they ain’t.”

Very few do it better than Caroline Bass ’21 of Newton, Mass., and Andrea Russo ’19 of Cheshire, Conn.

Russo has 120 career hits entering Friday afternoon’s — just seven shy of the �ֲ���ý career hits record.

Meanwhile, this year Bass broke the program records for hits and runs scored in a single season.

Their prowess at the top of the order has propelled �ֲ���ý to a program-record 20 wins this season.

As a rookie �ֲ���ý pitcher in 2017, Kirsten Pelletier ’20 of Sidney, Maine, struck out 83 batters, third most in �ֲ���ý softball history.

She’s now just a sophomore. But on a pitching staff that comprises her and two first-years, Pelletier is the wise veteran.

“It’s really cool that I’m only a sophomore and I get to help the first-years out,” said Pelletier. “We went on a pitchers’ date the other day and I took them out for ice cream and I just wanted to get to know them better and just let them know that I am a resource for them.”

The team is now in Florida on a spring trip, where Pelletier on Tuesday. It’s the first full seven-inning no-hitter this century; the last no-hitter was a five-inning perfect game in 2013 by Caroline Gattuso ’13.

The �ֲ���ý College softball team celebrates an 8-1 NESCAC East Division victory against rival Bowdoin.

�ֲ���ý first-year catcher Leah Maciejewski (Tewksbury, Mass.) capped a terrific game in dramatic fashion Saturday against Trinity, doubling down the left-field line to score Karen Ullmann with the game-winning run in the 11th inning for a 9-8 �ֲ���ý victory. The win clinched second place in the NESCAC East Division and the Bobcats’ first berth in the four-team field of the NESCAC Softball Championship, in the tournament’s ninth year of existence.

The double made Maciejewski 3-for-6 on the day with two doubles, two runs scored and three RBIs. She also singled and scored in the seventh inning, when �ֲ���ý came back from an 8-5 deficit to tie the game at 8-8 and send the game into extra innings.

Maciejewski finished the weekend leading the Bobcats in batting average at .356 and in runs scored at 12.

�ֲ���ý first-year 3B Monica Berube (Plainstow, N.H.) carried the Bobcat softball team’s offense during a key 3-1 week, going .400 at the plate (4-for-10) with a double, two home runs, three walks, four runs batted in and two runs scored.

Berube was the only team member to hit above .200 for the week, and she did it at the most opportune time, as �ֲ���ý defeated Colby last week to sweep the Mules for the first time since 2001, then went 2-1 in a weekend series against Bowdoin to claim the CBB title with an overall 5-1 record against the two in-state conference rivals.

Berube raised her batting average on the season to .275, and she ranks third on the team in slugging at .475. She also sports a spotless fielding percentage of 1.000 thus far.

�ֲ���ý College senior Stacia Saniuk (Sharon, Mass.) batted .778 (7-for-9) and posted a 1.444 slugging percentage along with a .867 on-base percentage during a 3-1 week for the Bobcat softball team. She hit two home runs, recorded six walks, had four RBI and four runs scored. Saniuk hit her 20th career homer on Sunday against UMaine-Farmington, extending her program-record mark. She has currently reached base in six straight plate appearances. On Saturday, her two-run homer in the sixth inning lifted �ֲ���ý to a 6-4 win over NESCAC East rival Colby.

Saniuk, who plays third base and designated player, also earned NESCAC Softball Player of the Week honors, the New England Small College Athletic Conference announced on Monday. It’s the first time a Bobcat has earned NESCAC Softball Player of the Week honors since Saniuk did it on March 19, 2007.

A three-time NESCAC All-Conference player, Saniuk also owns �ֲ���ý’ career records for extra-base hits (42) and total bases (193) in addition to the homers record. With 108 career base hits, she is currently two away from tying the �ֲ���ý career record of 110 held by Krissie Whiting ’03.

Stacia Saniuk '09

�ֲ���ý College junior Stacia Saniuk finished her junior season already atop the �ֲ���ý softball career lists for home runs, extra-base hits and total bases, and this week she was named to the NESCAC Softball All-Conference First Team.

It is the third All-NESCAC award in as many years for Saniuk (Sharon, Mass.), who was a Second Team honoree in both 2007 and 2006. She was voted NESCAC Rookie of the Year in 2006. [More…]