Nov. 22, 2006
PITTSBURGH--Pitt Softball Head Coach Michelle Phalen announced the signing of six freshmen to a National Letter of Intent (NLI). The six incoming freshmen include: Ashley Amistade, Cory Berliner, Alicia Broudy, Mollie Illenberger, Alyssa O'Connell and Reba Tutt. All six student-athletes will join the team for the 2008 season.
Amistade is a left-handed batter from Washington, Pa., who plays outfield, entering her senior season at Trinity High School. She led Trinity and her Pittsburgh Power under-18 squad in stolen bases last season. At Trinity she posted a .328 batting average and a .368 on-base percentage, while guiding the team to two sectional championships. For the Pittsburgh Power she tallied a .355 batting average and a .494 on-base percentage. Amistade was a 2005 NFCA Scholar Athlete awardee and her brother, Shawn, was a conference champion wrestler for Pitt in 2001.
Hailing from Fort Collins, Colo., Berliner enters her senior year at Rocky Mountain High School as the team's pitcher after guiding the team to a state championship last
season. Named an All-Colorado State Pitcher of the Year and a two-time Front Range Player of
the Year, she posted a two-year record of 35-2 and an ERA of 0.19 with 399 strikeouts on 253 innings. Berliner also led the under 18 Fort Collins Blue Buckaroos club team to back-to-back Triple Crown World Series Championship Titles and a ninth place finish in the 2006 18A ASA Nationals. During that time she tallied a record of 70-7 with nine saves and an ERA of 0.52.
Broudy is a local recruit from Balwin High School, the same high school as current third baseman Jess Dignon. A lefty who plays first base and in the outfield, Broudy is a member of the 2005 NSA World Series ninth-place Pittsburgh Wildfire under-18 club team. She is also an outstanding basketball player for Baldwin and a member of the National Honor Society.
Joining the Panthers from Doylestown, Pa., Illenberger enters her senior year at Central Bucks West High School. A third baseman and a catcher, Illenberger is a two-time High School Offensive Player of the Year and 2005 MVP. She was also named to the 2005 All-Suburban first team. A member of the Tuff-N-Tuffer Gold club team, Illenberger is also a National Honor Society honoree.
A pitcher at Camden Catholic High School in Cherry Hill, N.J., O'Connell was named first team All-South Jersey in 2006. She is also a three-time all-Prochial and all-conference honoree, while being honored as a South Jersey Coaches Association selection. O'Connell led the NJ Outlaws under-18 club to an ASA State Championship in 2006 and was invited to the 2006 adidas Futures Camp in St. George, Utah.
Tutt hails from Culpeper, Va. and is very fast and athletic outfielder at Warrenton High School. A left-handed batter, Tutt is a member of the VA Shamrocks Gold club team that won the 2005 ASA Gold National Championships. Tutt also plays shortstop and was an all-conference MVP in 2005 and earned all-area, all-region and all-state honors. A member of the DII Virginia State runner-up basketball team in 2006, Tutt was also inducted into the National Honor Society.
Last season the Panthers compiled a record-setting season with a 32-27 record and their first-ever Big East Tournament berth, which led to a win over then-ranked South Florida. The 2007 Panthers garnered an 8-2 record in fall action and look to open the season on Feb. 9 in the FAU Miken Invitational against South Carolina at 9 a.m.