April 30, 2008

River Forest, IL - The Dominican University Stars softball program closed out the 2008 season on Tuesday, splitting a Northern Athletics Conference (NAC) doubleheader with Rockford College. The Stars' 14-1 win in game one was the program's 14th victory of the season, establishing a new single-season win record for the program. The previous record of 11 wins was set back in 2004.

"We are extremely excited about the direction the program is headed in," exclaimed Head Coach Cristina Lukas. "We have a team heavy with freshman and sophomores that have begun to rewrite the record book at Dominican University, shattering university records for batting average, slugging percentage and wins to name a few."

The Stars had three underclassmen start all 37 games for the team in 2008 with another two freshmen starting 35 games. Freshmen Abbey Bullerdick (New Market, IN) and Haley Johnson (Indianapolis, IN) led the team in hitting, with Bullerdick posting team highs in batting average (.386) and runs batted in (37). Johnson, a 5'5" first baseman, logged a .381 batting average with a team-high 70 total bases as she blasted a single-season record five home runs with eight doubles and one triple while driving in 33 runs.

Fellow freshman Megan Day (Zionsville, IN) batted .370, fourth-best on the team, in her first year of college softball. The Stars' everyday starting centerfielder, Day logged a team high 18 extra-base hits with 12 doubles, three triples and three home runs. Day's .620 slugging percentage is the program's highest single-season slugging percentage with a minimum of sixty at-bats in a season.

Lea Marzolo (Fairview, MI) set the Stars' single-season batting average mark last season with a .433 batting average as a freshman. The 5'3" outfielder did not slow down much in 2008, posting a .376 batting average for her sophomore season and stealing a Dominican University record 16 bases on the season.

"We are extremely excited about the direction the program is headed in." Cristina Lukas, Head Softball Coach

With the Stars' one through four hitters posting a combined .378 batting average and the team posting a .306 batting average for the season, more than .030 points higher than any other single-season batting average in Dominican University history, the Stars shattered the program's records for runs, runs batted in, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, hits and home runs. As a team, the Stars drove in 191 runs, scored 226 runs, logged 287 hits and blasted 16 home runs, all Dominican University records.

On the year, the Stars posted a 14-23 overall record finishing the NAC regular season with a record of 8-16.