NE-10 Champs: Regionals Here We Come!

Softball Bat: $250
Glove: $100
Winning the Northeast-10 Conference Championship: PRICELESS!

Our first game did not go as we planned.  After the first day of NE-10 Championship play, we found ourselves in the loser’s bracket.  But everyone came together and put our game faces on to win the next 4 games, including two straight against Le Moyne to take the title on Sunday.

No one was ready for the season to be over.  We worked way too hard the entire season to let it slip away.  Being in the loser’s bracket after the first day really made us want it that much more.  I remember it like it was yesterday.  Last pitch, 3-2 on the batter, two outs, the pitch: strike three! The feeling was indescribable. I am so proud of every single one of my teammates.  It was a complete team effort..I wouldn’t ask for anything more.

Although Sunday was a great day, we are not done yet because we are now off to Regionals.  We will face Southern Connecticut State University on Friday, May 4, at noon.  We must keep the same intensity and play the way we can, but most of all, have fun while doing it.

This week finals started as well.  Along with packing for the weekend, we must get ready for finals.  As any student-athlete knows, it is not easy balancing school and sports, but the most important thing to remember is TIME MANAGEMENT.  If that means writing a 7-page paper in my hotel room, then that’s what it will be!

Well, I must get my things together and hop on the bus!  I will update throughout the weekend.  Wish us luck…GO HOUNDS! =]

End of the Semester & Playoff Time!

Hello! Sorry for the long delay…It’s been a crazy semester over here!

Worrying about softball is one thing, but worrying about school is another.  May 12th I will graduate with a bachelor’s degree in accounting.  That scares me a little bit to be completely honest.  I’ll be out in the real world, with a real job, making some real money.

Wait, that means college is over…where did the time go?  All the studying, late nights working on projects, coffees to keep me awake during the day…all of that is over. I look back and say, “Wow! How did I do this for 5 years?”  It’s simple.  It was to better myself and get me ready for what is to come after graduation.  I’m ready.

Someone asked me the other day, “Your seasons almost over, are you sad?”

My answer, “No, because it hasn’t ended yet and I’m excited for what this next week brings.”

School is almost over, which means my softball career is coming to an end.  My teammates and I have worked so hard to get where we are at the end of the regular season.  We finished in 3rd with an overall record of 28-15 and 21-9 in NE-10 play.  Everyone has been playing so well and keeping a positive attitude, which is key going into our first round playoff game where we will host Southern New Hampshire on Wednesday, April 25th. We are in a great position right now, we are ready for this.

My ankle is sore, my back hurts and I’m ready for a nap. Being a student-athlete has really worn me down over the years, but you know what, it’s all worth it in the end.  I’m proud to be where I am today and I commend all student-athletes for their accomplishments as well!

Well, I must get back to the books.  I just wanted to check in with some updates.  I will be back soon!

Florida Fun and Starting Up North

Hello All!

It’s been a little while since I have blogged, so I figured I would give you a little update.

Florida has come and gone, but overall it was a great time!  Sad that it was my last Florida trip with the team, but happy to go home with a winning record.  We won 7 games out of a total of 13.  Finishing out the week, we won our last 5 out of the 6 games, which really boosted our confidence level and proved how well we can play.  We played pretty solid, but there’s always room for improvement.

We have been blessed with some great weather this past week, so it was nice to practice outside on our own field (let’s hope it stays that way!).  This week it was important to tighten up our game and work on the little things.  We did a great deal of hitting and took A LOT of infield and outfield, gearing us up for the start of our season up North.

Our home opener is this Tuesday, March 20, against Adelphi.  It has always been a great matchup between our two teams, so it will be an exciting way to start the action.  To end the week, we will be traveling to New York for doubleheaders against Le Moyne and St. Rose.

Before I go, I would also like to give a shout out to my teammate, Chelsea Durso, for being named Northeast-10 Pitcher of the Week last week.  Nice work Chels!

So long for now everyone…I’ll be checking in soon!

And so it begins..

We are officially off and running with the 2012 softball season! We’ve successfully completed the first full week of practices. It was not easy, but it was great to get back into the swing of things, not only with softball, but with classes as well.  It’s always a treat starting classes again!  Over the next few weeks, we will bear down on our studies because once we get back from spring training in Florida, the season gets crazy (as all my fellow student-athletes know).

Speaking of Florida….

COUNTDOWN:  34 DAYS!!!

We are very excited to head back to Clermont, Florida for some serious softball action.  Competition will not be easy by any means, but with the hard work put into practices over the next couple of weeks, we will definitely be more than prepared.

In Florida, we will be playing 13 games overall with a solid practice right when we get off the plane.   We play Dominican (N.Y.) to finally kick off our season on March 2nd.

Sunday we begin our usual spring softball clinic.  We will be offering our knowledge of the game to the young ones, such as hitting fundamentals and pitching techniques.  Hopefully, we will inspire them to one day play softball at Assumption College (I was one of those girls).  It’s a great opportunity to interact with the girls and teach them what we have learned over the years and plus, they really enjoy it.

Well, off to hit the books.  I’ll be back soon ladies and gentlemen.

Okay, Here We Go…

Well, hello everyone.  My name is Marissa Palumbo and I am a member of the Assumption College softball team.  This is my 5th year at Assumption (yes, I know I’m old…I get that all the time).  Long story short, I broke my ankle junior year, missed the whole season and decided to come back one more time.  I’m not doing this whole college thing for another year just to play the sport that I love, but to continue my education as an Accounting major.  It ain’t easy let me tell you.  If I’m not at practice or at the gym, I’m in the library until they kick me out.

Enough about the basics. I am really excited for our  upcoming softball season. Our team had a successful fall season, closing it out with a sweep of the Holy Cross softball team. Our goal for this year is to repeat as regular season champions of the Northeast-10 and to succeed in the championship.

During this offseason, my teammates and I are focusing on our academics. However, we are also working hard in the gym with our conditioning program to gear up for the upcoming spring season. We hope that our dedication this winter will pay off in the spring. As we lady greyhounds say: win together, lose together, play together, stay together.

On another note…Congratulations to the Assumption Men’s and Women’s Basketball teams for their conference wins over AIC last night!!!

All right folks. Stay tuned. I’ll be in touch soon.

About Marissa

#4 Marissa Palumbo

School: Assumption
Position: Shortstop
Bats/Throws: R/R
Hometown: Worcester, Mass.
High School: Holy Name
Courtesy of assumptiongreyhounds.com

ACADEMICALLY
2008 Fall Assumption College Student-Athlete Honor Roll
2009 Spring Assumption College Student-Athlete Honor Roll
2009 Fall Assumption College Student-Athlete Honor Roll
2010 Spring Assumption College Student-Athlete Honor Roll

2011 Assumption College CAPTAIN

PERSONAL: born in Worcester, MA . . . has sister Tania ’06 (played softball at Assumption College) . . . played for Coach Jill Shea at Holy Name High School (Worcester, MA) . . . Holy Name Athlete-of-the-Year, Worcester Telegram & Gazette Super Team . . . led Central Massachusetts in hitting (.696 as senior) . . . also played basketball (Worcester Telegram & Gazette all-scholastic) and field hockey . . . basketball team was two-time District E champion . . . as senior, was in the top 10 in scoring . . .

2008: 39 games (39 starts), 117 at-bats, 16 runs, 48 hits (led team), 8 doubles, 0 triples, 2 home runs, 4 stolen bases (led team), 6 sacrifices, 11 walks, 11 strikeouts, 15 RBI, .410 average (led team), 62 total bases (tied team lead), .530 slugging percentage (led team) . . . 56 put outs, 122 assists (led team), 7 errors, .962 fielding percentage . . . Northeast-10 Conference weekly honor roll twice, Northeast-10 Conference Freshman-of-the-Year, first-team Northeast-10 Conference all-star, Assumption College Female Freshman Athlete-of-the-Year . . .

2009: 47 games (47 starts), 108 at-bats, 14 runs, 35 hits, 7 doubles, 1 triple, 0 home runs, 8 RBI, .324 average, 44 total bases, .407 slugging percentage . . . 88 put outs, 106 assists, 11 errors, .946 fielding percentage . . . second-team Northeast-10 Conference all-star . . .

2010: 10 games (10 starts), 26 at-bats, 3 runs, 8 hits, 2 doubles, 1 home run, 6 RBI, 13 total bases, 5 walks, 5 strikeouts, .308 average, .419 on base percentage, .500 slugging percentage . . . 12 putouts, 22 assists, 1 error, .971 fielding percentage . . .