Hall of Fame
The softball tradition at The College of New Jersey is a long and rich one and this year marks the 25th anniversary of one of the program's crowning moments, its first NCAA Division III Championship.
The Lions came close in each of the previous three seasons taking second twice and adding another top-five finish, but it wasn't until 1983 that the program broke through and won their first national title on the diamond.
The College was dominant on the field that season boasting a 19-game winning streak at one point and finished the season with a 41-7 record, with 22 of those victories coming by shutout. At the time, those 41 wins established a school record. The team capped the regular season with a mark of 34-6 and hosted the regional round of the NCAA Tournament and didn't allow a run in three games. The Lions beat Westfield College by the score of 3-0 and collected a pair of wins over conference rival Montclair by the scores of 1-0 and 3-0.
Those three wins sent the Lions to the Division III World Series hosted by Eastern Connecticut. The team got on a roll early beating Buena Vista (IA), 2-0, and then held off North Central (IL) by the score of 3-1. In one of the tougher games of the tournament, the Lions took on the host Warriors and came through with a tremendous 7-0 victory sending them into the title game via the winner's bracket. Buena Vista was able to hold off elimination for a game edging the College 1-0 and forcing a winner-take-all final, but the Lions weren't to be denied as they cruised to a 6-0 win in the title game.
A number of Lions were honored for their performances during the title run being named to the All-Tournament Team. Earning spots on that team were pitcher Gina LaMandre, catcher Elaine McGettigan, first baseman Karen Youngman, second baseman Anita Kubicka, shortstop Ann Depperman and outfielder Carol Maioran.
During the course of the season, LaMandre was nearly untouchable on the mound as she boasted a record of 22-4 with an earned-run-average of 0.35. Robin Payne was equally impressive when on taking the rubber as she went 17-3 with a 0.52 ERA.
At the plate, senior captain Ann DeGennaro was the catalyst as the senior led the team with a .375 batting average to go along with 57 hits and 42 runs. Maioran was second on the team in hitting with an average of .360 with Youngman pacing the squad with 45 runs batted while hitting .331. Sue Wilson also played a key role for the Lions as the outfielder batted .320.
Other members of the championship team included Donna Michal, Cindy Arouh, Karen Majerski, Diane Smith, Gina Bilotti, Linda Brunner, Carla Mancuso and Shelly Walters.
One of the final honors came when the team had already returned to the Ewing campus as coach Dr. June Walker was selected as the Coach of the Year for Division III by Diamond Baseball-Softball Company.
While the Lions have added several titles since the spring of 1983, this special group will be tied together as members of the first NCAA Division III championship team in program history.
