Nov. 11, 2009

Fort Wayne, IN – IPFW Head Softball Coach Amy Tudor has signed a pair of players to National Letters of Intent – twins Alex and Ashleigh Bousquet, of Mishawaka Marian High School.

The pair helped the Knights to a 29-5 record, reaching the Class 3A State Finals in 2008, and helped the team to an 18-7 record a season ago. The duo bat 1-2 for Marian, and occupy the left side of the infield, Ashleigh a third baseman, and Alex a shortstop. The pair also was named All-District in both 2008 and 2009.

“We are very excited to bring two dynamic hitters into our lineup,” said head coach Amy Tudor, who is beginning her first year at the helm of the Mastodon program. "From a recruiting standpoint, they are the top two hitters that I have ever recruited and signed. They are extremely talented left-handed hitters, and have a lot of potential to make a huge impact as freshmen.”

Last season Ashleigh was named First Team All-State, batting .608, a new school record, with a .962 slugging percentage. A leadoff hitter, she also led the team in runs (30), hits (48), extra base hits (19), and struck out just once in her 79 at-bats on the year. As a sophomore, she batted .433 with 52 hits in 120 at-bats, scoring 34 runs with 14 RBI’s, nine doubles, seven triples and a home run. She was named the Northern Indiana Conference (NIC) Most Valuable Player last year, and is a two-time First Team All-NIC selection, after being named Honorable Mention All-League as a freshman.

Alex, who is also one of the women’s basketball team’s top players, batted .466 directly after her sister in the batting order, and had 34 hits, 15 runs batted in, and a team-high 12 stolen bases. A year earlier she batted .411 with 46 hits in 112 at-bats, scoring 27 times, hitting seven doubles and driving in eight runs. Alex is a two-time First Team All-NIC selection, and is a member of the National Honor Society, and a member of the school’s Honor Roll each of her last three years.

“The two will also help us in the field,” said Tudor. “They are athletic enough to play a multitude of positions, and will be able to adjust and adapt to playing at this level.”

The Mastodons went 14-24 in 2009, and return seven of eight position players, and their entire three-pitcher rotation for the 2010 season. Of the returnees include the top four batters, and Second Team All-Summit League selection Courtney Cronin in the pitchers circle, as the freshman went 9-7 in her inaugural campaign with the ‘Dons, with a 1.85 ERA and 108 strikeouts in 124.2 innings of work.

IPFW opens their 2010 schedule at the University of Memphis at the Memphis Blues City Classic on February 19 and 20, where they will face off against Memphis, Southeast Missouri State, McNeese State and Appalachian State.

~Dons~