Ashton Wince verbals to UMass

UMass coach Elaine Sortino picked up her first 2013 verbal from Vienna Stars Gold catcher Ashton Wince.

Wince is a talented catcher from Manassas, VA, where she attends Paul VI high school. She has earned numerous accolades playing for Paul VI, including being named All State as a freshman and sophomore. Wince has also been featured on Spy Softball for her play in travel ball. Wince swings a very powerful bat, while also having an extremely strong arm behind the dish. Wince's game evokes comparisons with former Minutewomen All-American KJ Kelley.

Wince and the Vienna Stars had an outstanding 2011 season, going all the way to ASA Gold Nationals. She batted second for the Stars, as they managed to go 1-2. Wince showed she can get it done against top competition, hitting .375 at the tournament.

Wince is a very nice pickup for the Minutewomen and it will be exciting to see what other players join her in UMass' 2013 recruiting class.

Past Vienna Stars who have headed to the A10, include Julia Kastner to Temple this season.

Liz Mendez verbals to St. Joseph's

Liz Mendez

Coach Terri Adams picked up another verbal for her 2012 recruiting class in Liz Mendez. Mendez is a pitcher for the West Windsor Wildcats travel team and West Windsor Plainsboro South High School.

Mendez is a talented pitcher that will definitely make an impact for the Hawks in the circle. She led her county to the title at the Carpenter Cup this summer after coming all the way through the loser's bracket. Mendez is also a talented hitter and she could also see some significant action at the plate for St. Joseph's.

Mendez is the second pitcher in the Hawks' 2012 recruiting class joining Anna Lauterbach, the position players in St. Joseph's class are Sarah Yoos and Brandi Harkness. This is already a talented class and one that may grow even more in the coming weeks.

Gen Gaynor verbals to La Salle

Gen Gaynor

Coach Brianne Brown picked up a verbal from Gen Gaynor, a 2012 catcher for the NJ Outlaws.

Gaynor will most likely be counted on to replace Shannon Skomorucha who has started since she set foot on campus. Gaynor is a talented defensive catcher and Coach Brown will look for her to gun down speedy opponents on the bases. Gaynor comes from a talented family as her sister Keli currently plays for Pittsburgh.

Gaynor joins Stacie DeNucci in La Salle's recruiting class of 2012.

Courtney Carroll verbals to Charlotte

Courtney Carroll

Charlotte has picked up a verbal from Courtney Carroll, a middle infielder of the Carolina Cardinals.

Carroll was the number two hitter for the Cardinals this summer and she is quite the pickup for Coach Aimee DeVos. Carroll is a speedy defensive shortstop that should be fixture at the top of the 49ers' lineup once she starts play at the DL Phillips Complex. Carroll can do it all at the plate: power, speed, and average and she was named Central Piedmont Conference Player of the Year for her play at West Forsyth High School.

Carroll joins Jessica Plemmons in Charlotte's class of 2012.

Katy Hackett and Emily Jeffery wrap up play at the European Cup

Former Charlotte aces Katy Hackett and Emily Jeffery finished up action at the European Cup.

Emily Jeffery and the Afterburners finished with a 2-5 record at the tournament, but they did manage a win over the eventual tournament champions: Tex Town Tigers. Jeffery finished the tournament with a 2-3 record, 1.80 ERA and 39 SO in 35 IP. Jeffery threw a one-hit shutout in the Afterburners 1-0 win over the Tex Town Tigers, including 9 SO against a lineup that hit .303 at the European Cup and was not shut out in any other game.

Katy Hackett and the Wesseling Vermins also finished with a 2-5 record at the European Cup. The Vermins finished with victories over Skovde BSK and the Afterburners. Hackett finished the tournament with a 2-2 record and a 3.56 ERA with 12 SO in 19.2 IP.

Congrats to Katy and Emily on completing their first season of European softball!

Jess Zeilman transfers to Temple

Jess Zeilman

Former Hofstra infielder Jess Zeilman is transferring to Temple. Zeilman will be a sophomore in 2012 and she will be a great addition to a strong Temple squad.

Zeilman played well for Hofstra when she was given the opportunity, as she played in 27 games, while starting 5 of those games. The majority of her appearances came as a pinch runner, but in limited at-bats Zeilman did hit .267 for the Pride, driving in 6 runs on the year.

Zeilman will make an immediate impact on Temple's lineup both offensively and defensively. Coach Joe DiPietro is building a very deep and talented squad for the 2012 season and they will look to build on last season's 4th place finish in the standings.

Zeilman's move to Temple is the exact opposite of one of her former teammates at Hofstra. Jess Hirschbuhl transferred from Temple to Hofstra after playing one year for the Owls.

News and notes

Chelsea Plimpton

Former Fordham standout Chelsea Plimpton will be joining the coaching staff at St. Lawrence University, where she will serve as a graduate assistant coach. However the story doesn't end there, as one of the pitchers that she will work with, will be her sister Kyle.

St. Bonaventure welcomes former Hartford head coach Todd Randall to the coaching staff, following the retirement of long time assistant Dave Matz. Randall is no stranger to the St. Bonaventure program, as he served as the Bonnies' head coach from 1993-1996.

St. Louis' assistant coach in 2011, Katie Wagner will not be returning in 2012 and the Billikens will likely announce a replacement soon.

Fordham assistants Emily Friedman and Brealand Edwards will not be returning in 2012 either. Both coaches played a key role in the Rams' success on pitching defense.

La Salle coach Brianne Brown has announced the addition of Mike Fegely to the Explorers' coaching staff in 2012. Fegely has extensive experience in travel and high school ball and coach Brown is glad to have him join her staff.

Dayton's fall schedule

Kathleen Maloof

Dayton advanced to the A10 tournament for the first time since 2000 and this year the Flyers will look to build on that success, as they look to establish themselves in the upper echelon of programs in the Atlantic 10. Coach Cara LaPlaca has set an 8 game slate for her team this fall.

September 17th vs. Northern Kentucky vs. Cedarville
September 18th vs. Findlay (DH)
October 1st vs. Rio Grande
October 2nd vs. Dayton Alumni
October 8th @ Ohio State Charity Classic

Dayton returns a very talented squad for the 2012 season, including Lauren Nacke and Kathleen Maloof who had outstanding 2011 seasons. Nacke and Maloof will lead the team on offense along with two talented sophomores in Rachel Archer and Alysha Isaacson. In the circle, Isaacson and Sarah Wedel and they will once again be counted on for significant innings.

The Flyers have a talented incoming class for the 2012 season and a couple players to keep an eye on this year are Kayla English and Leah Sitter.

Now only fall schedules are needed from Rhode Island and La Salle

Check out the pages on the Atlantic 10 Softball Blog

At the top of the blog, just below the title (Atlantic 10 Softball) there are four tabs, three of which are pages and the fourth is a tab to return to the home page of the blog.

Under the Atlantic 10 Recruiting Tab signees, verbals, and any others commitments can be found. Players are listed by year of graduation and their positions and travel teams are also listed. This page is constantly updated throughout the year.

The 2012 Schedule Tab includes the games and tournaments that Atlantic 10 teams are scheduled and to attend  and host in the spring of 2012. This listing is far from complete, but it includes as much information that's available. With regard to the tournaments, most schedules have not been set yet, so the other teams are listed in italics for the moment. Quite a few tournaments do not have completed fields at the moment.

The 2011 Fall Schedule Tab has all the fall games that Atlantic 10 teams are scheduled to play. So far every teams schedule is up there with the exception of Dayton, La Salle, and Rhode Island. Some opponents have not been announced yet, but when they are the page will be updated. The plan is to update this page with scores every weekend, if possible.

If anyone has any information to update one of these page please email atlantic10softball@gmail.com

UMass' 2011 fall schedule

Katie Bettencourt

UMass had a bit of a rough year in 2011, finishing third at the A10 tournament, failing to advance to NCAA regionals for the first time since 1994, as well dealing with a multitude of injuries, so the Minutewomen are ready to move forward from last year. UMass will play a seven game slate this fall and they will play every game at home.

September 17th vs Sacred Heart vs Boston College

September 24th vs Holy Cross (DH)

October 1st vs Bryant vs Quinnipiac

October 2nd vs Iona (DH)

UMass graduated just two players from 2011 and an impressive recruiting class is coming in, so it would not be a surprise to see the Minutewomen return to their dominating ways. All three pitchers return in the circle for UMass led by Sara Plourde. Caroline Raymond and Lindsey Webster will look to bounce back from injuries that kept them out of the circle for most of last season. On offense, leading hitter Cyndil Matthew returns along with Webster and the Minutewomen will get a huge boost from 2010 A10 co-Player of the Year Katie Bettencourt. 

Coach Elaine Sortino brought in an excellent freshmen class and do not be surprised if a number of them are in the starting lineup by the end of the year. Quianna Diaz-Patterson is definitely one to keep an eye on, as she may be the fastest player on a team that already includes some pretty fast players. 

Chelsey Pedley has signed with George Washington

Chelsey Pedley

George Washington's aggressive recruiting has continued with the signing of left-handed pitcher Chelsey Pedley of Jacksonville, FL. Pedley signed earlier this year (though it just came to the attention of this blog, even though we try to be perfect sometimes we miss things) and she is a part of Coach Stacey Schramm's first incoming class.

Pedley will join a Colonials' pitching staff that includes Kara Clauss, Heidi Penna, and Courtney Martin. Pedley will provide a unique look, as there are a lot of lefty hitters in the A10 and very few southpaw pitchers, in fact Alysha Isaacson of Dayton and Jayshree Narendran of Rhode Island were the only left handed pitchers last year.

Pedley pitches for the Florida Select travel team, which recently wrapped up play at the 18A Nationals in Normal, IL, where they finished tied for 49th with a 2-2 record.

Pedley and the rest of the George Washington incoming freshmen class: Kaitlyn O'Shea, Victoria Valos, Samantha Dos Santos, Becca Garlinger, McKinley Tretler, and Alexandria Thompson will play a big role in shaping the direction of this program moving forward.

Emily Jeffery and Katy Hackett at the European Cup!

Wesseling Vermins (Katy Hackett is top row all the way on the right)

Former Charlotte standouts Emily Jeffery and Katy Hackett have been competing at the 2011 European Cup in Enschede, Netherlands.

Jeffery is throwing for the Afterburners of Belgium, while Hackett has been throwing for the Wesseling Vermins of Germany. So far, Jeffery is 0-2 with a 3.28 ERA and 13 SO in 10.2 innings. The Afterburners' offense has been somewhat nonexistent, as they have not scored a single run for Jeffery in the circle.

 The Vermins have fared a little better and currently Katy Hackett is 1-1 with a 3.68 ERA and 9 SO in 13.1 IP. The Vermins are 1-2 at the moment, but they have already matched up against the two top teams in the pool.

Here is the website for the tournament, which has live stats and video streaming to follow the action of these two 49ers