Softball

2005 Conference Player of the Year - Leah Peterson

Softball Schedule

2005 Season

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2005 Roster

Head Coach - Lou Ann Simchak (7th year)
Assistant Coach - Ken Haar (7th year)
Student Assistant - Sara Chamberlain (No. 7)
Captains - Liz Oliveira, Leah Peterson

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2005 Season Review

The Westfield State softball team overcame injury and adversity to finish second in the Mass. State Conference postseason tournament.

Led by a solid group of five seniors, the Owls blanked Fitchburg State, 3-0, and Salem State, 4-0, to advance to the championship round vs. perennial power Bridgewater State. Bridgewater rallied to defeat Westfield, 4-3, to earn the NCAA bid.

Playing a demanding non-conference schedule, the Owls finished with a 15-22 overall record. They were 8-6 in the conference’s regular season, including double header losses to both Fitchburg and Salem.

Westfield’s four four-year seniors - led by conference Player of the Year Leah Peterson - were named to the 2005 Mass. State Conference softball all-conference team.

Peterson earned all-conference honors as a pitcher for the third straight year in leading the Owls to a runner-up finish in the MASCAC postseason tournament. She was a first-team all-conference pitcher this season and in 2004, and a second-team pick in 2003.

In addition, Peterson pulled a rare double as she was selected to this year’s second team as the designated player. The Lakeville, Mass., native also played first base and outfield for the Owls and led the team in hitting (.374), runs scored (20) and hits (40).

On the mound the hard-throwing lefty posted a 10-14 record with a 1.41 earned run average and 119 strikeouts.

Westfield’s other first-team selection was senior second baseman Amanda Fregeau of Athol. Fregeau batted .271 with 14 RBI and team-highs of four sacrifice flies and 10 sacrifice hits.

Second-team selections were senior catcher Liz Oliveira (Fall River) and senior third baseman Casey Greggo (Wappinger Falls, N.Y.) Oliveira, who also was a second-team pick in 2004, batted .287 with 14 RBI and a team-high nine doubles. Greggo had six doubles and a team-high 15 RBI.

Other key contributors were freshman Katie Silva, who hit .328 in 58 at bats. Senior infielder Nikki Benson and sophomore shortstop Joanna Bruyere were both batting .250 before they sustained broken hands near the season’s halfway point.

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Head Coach Lou Ann Simchak

Seventh-year head coach Lou Ann Simchak has a great deal of experience, having played semi-pro softball for more than 15 years. She is a 1977 graduate of Westfield State, and was a three-year standout in both softball and basketball. She earned MVP honors twice in softball and three times in basketball, two year was named the College's Best All Around Athlete. In 1976 she received an Olympic basketball tryout invitation. In 2001, Simchak was inducted into the Westfield State Athletics Hall of Fame.

Also a standout athlete at Westfield High School, Simchak has coached and officiated in various capacities during the past 25 years.

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Awards and Records

2005 Conference Player of the Year
Leah Peterson
2005 First Team All Conference
Amanda Fregeau
Leah Peterson (pitcher)
2005 Second Team All Conference
Casey Greggo
Liz Oliveira
Leah Peterson (designated player)
Team MVP
Leah Peterson
Phanessa Fisher Award
Liz Oliveira
Rookie of the Year
Katie Siva

History Of WSC Softball

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