Monday

Monday, April 25, 2005

BONGIOLATTI HITS RECORD 10^thHOME RUN FOR TUFTS SOFTBALL

MEDFORD – With a three-run home run in the third inning of a 7-1 victory against Wesleyan University on Friday (Apr. 22), Tufts University senior shortstop Courtney Bongiolatti (Locust, NJ/Middletown) broke the program's record for round-trippers in a season with her 10^th.

Bongiolatti and the rest of the Jumbos have been hitting home runs at a record pace all season. The previous single-season record was the nine hit by Lis Drake in 38 games during the 2002 season. Bongiolatti demolished that mark with 10 in 26 Jumbo games so far this season. She is among the NCAA Division III leaders for total home runs and home runs per game.

She started on the right foot, hitting two home runs and driving in six runs in the first game of the season when Tufts played at Whittier College in California on May 20. She also hit one against defending NCAA Division III national champion St. Thomas of Minnesota and against Williams College during the Jumbos' spring trip.

In the last nine games since April 10, Bongiolatti has hit six home runs. She went deep in both games of a double-header sweep against Springfield College on April 14. She then helped Tufts earn a double-header sweep of NESCAC East Division rival Bowdoin College by hitting two home runs in the second game on April 16.

With the home runs have come an equally extraordinary amount of runs batted in. Bongiolatti has 38 in 26 games, another category in which she is among the national leaders. She is two RBI short of breaking the Tufts single-season mark of 39 by Jodi Beach in 1995 and eight shy of the Tufts career RBI mark. She currently has 116 and the record is Drake's 123 from 2000-03. Bongiolatti's 28 career home runs are four off Drake's record of 32.

In 26 starts so far this spring, she is hitting .390 and also has five doubles and a triple for a gaudy .841 slugging percentage. She has also played a good shortstop, handling 113 of 122 chances for a .926 fielding percentage.

Tufts as a team has hit 32 home runs in 26 games. The NCAA record is 48 by Muskingum in 2002. The Jumbos have five regular-season games left and potentially more games in the NESCAC Tournament May 6-8.