Sports Information Department – 112 Dods Hall
Phone (716) 673-3100 / Fax (716) 673-3136

CONTACT: Jerry Reilly,
Sports Information Director

DATE: Wed., March 16, 2005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Women's Softball

Devils look to improve on successful '04

FREDONIA, N.Y.. – Optimism runs throughout the Fredonia State softball team as it prepares for the 2004-05 season.

Coming off their most successful season ever, the Blue Devils have their sights set on a season that’s as good – if not better – than last year.

The Blue Devils posted a 26-14 mark overall, 14-6 in the State University of New York Athletic Conference. Both win totals were single-season school records. The Blue Devils defeated every SUNYAC team at least once, including NCAA Tournament participants Oneonta and Cortland.

Head coach Lorrie Corsi, the 2004 SUNYAC Coach of the Year, is confident that his team’s pitching staff – under the tutelage of assistant coach Dan Mierzwa – will be solid once again. The group was third in team pitching in the SUNYAC last season.

Casey Mazurek (Dunkirk/Dunkirk) returns for her sophomore season. Mazurek, an All SUNYAC selection as a freshman, posted a 14-6 record with four saves and a conference-leading 0.88 earned run average in 2004. Her ERA was 32nd in the nation and set a single-season Fredonia State record, while the 14 wins was also a new Blue Devil single-season record.

She will be joined in the circle by a pair of juniors, Ashley Sullivan (Derby/Lake Shore) and Amanda Waite (Dunkirk/Dunkirk). Sullivan, a team tri-captain, was 5-5 with a 2.05 ERA in 2004, while Waite – limited to 30 innings because of a finger injury – was 1-2 with a 3.03 ERA.

When they are not pitching, all three players will likely be starters at other positions: Mazurek at either first base or third base, Sullivan at first base, and Waite in left field. Of the three, Sullivan had the most success at the plate in 2004. She batted .257 with 21 RBI, second on the team.

Two other full-time starters return: senior right fielder Jen Grabowski (West Seneca/West Seneca West) and junior shortstop Andrea Carlson (Forestville/Pine Valley). Both women had solid years at bat in 2004. Grabowski, a lifetime .328 hitter for the Blue Devils, batted .300 as a junior with team highs in doubles (14) and RBI (22). She will also serve as a team tri-captain. Carlson hit .262 in her only collegiate season with eight extra-base hits and eight stolen bases. She was also a stabilizing force on defense.

Senior tri-captain Kim Menth (Tonawanda/Tonawanda) and junior Nikki Prentice (Frewsburg/Frewsburg) provide experience at the catcher position. They shared the duties in 2004, and will likely do the same this season. Both women will look to rebound offensively in 2005.

In center field, junior Ashley Livermore (Randolph/Randolph) will likely have the task of replacing two-time All SUNYAC player Heather Mercer. Mercer batted .336, had 18 extra-base hits, 19 RBI, and 15 stolen bases in 2004. She graduated as Fredonia State’s leader in at least eight offensive categories.

Livermore, on the other hand, had a solid 2004 season at Jamestown Community College, and received all-region recognition in 2003.

Sophomore Samantha Mastrelli (Dunkirk/Dunkirk) is the other Blue Devil newcomer expected to start. Mastrelli, a transfer from Edinboro University, will open the season at second base. She, Mazurek, and Waite are products of the Dunkirk High program that has won 15 straight league titles.

Corsi has a short bench, although he believes it’s an accomplished group. Sophomore Meghan Flaherty (Cassadaga/Cassadaga Valley) is the lone returning player among the subs. She played third base and was used as a designated runner in 2004. The newcomers are junior utility player Staci Weidert (Hilton/Hilton), sophomore infielder Lindsey Drum (Wayland/Wayland-Cohocton), and freshman outfielder Eileen Ferrari (Webster/Webster Schroeder) .

The switch-hitting Weidert transferred to Fredonia State from Monroe C.C., where the women’s softball team was nationally ranked in both her seasons there. Drum, who also plays women’s volleyball at Fredonia State, started on a state quarterfinal team as a high school senior. Ferrari is a speedy left-hander who gives Corsi more versatility in his batting order.

The Blue Devils open their season with a 10-game Florida swing starting March 18. They will be participating in the 15th Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic in Fort Myers and Cape Coral, Fla.

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