Hall of Fame Series: 2005 Softball

Hall of Fame Series: 2005 Softball
Posted: Oct 06, 2022

BOSTON – Over the next few weeks, GoSuffolkRams.com will take a look at the student-athletes, special honoree and team to be inducted into the Suffolk University Athletics Hall of Fame this October. The final installment highlights the 2005 softball team. 

Solid pitching. Stealthy base running. Stingy defense. Heavy hitters. The 2005 edition of Suffolk softball covered all the fundamentals on paper, but to achieve greatness, all 14 ball players had to be great individually and want greatness. They weren’t just great, they became legendary. 

The year started out like any other, with a trip to the Sunshine State for spring training. A mixture of wins and losses down south sent Suffolk back home with a 5-3 record.

It was on their return to New England that the Rams squad really cemented their spot in the program’s record book.  

April 3-13, Suffolk rattled off 11 consecutive triumphs. Seven of those wins came via shutout thanks to the twirling of Jenn Elwell, Natalie West, Erin Pagel and Denise Trubia. Pagel’s rise ball mixed with Trubia’s change up was lethal and opponents could not touch that combination in the circle. It showed as Suffolk outscored its foes in that 11-day span, 100-4.  

Backboned by its pitching, Suffolk continued to collect victories, taking close encounters and blowouts, with each player contributing where and when they should en route to a 19-5 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) ledger, good for the second spot in the league’s postseason tournament.  

A program-record six student-athletes were recognized for athletic achievements by the conference in first-team honorees freshman third baseman Katie Crowley, junior outfielder Christina Nay, pitchers Pagel and West, as well as second-team selections junior catcher Brenna Burr and junior infielder Jill Grant.

The blue-and-gold fell just one game shy of collecting the GNAC crown, however, Suffolk’s season did not stop there. Led by GNAC Coach of the Year Elaine Schwager, the Rams made the program’s second trip to the ECAC New England Championship. It was there that the squad surpassed the 30-win mark for the first time in the all-time annals with an extra-inning, thrilling 5-4 win over Wellesley.   

All-region honors rolled in for the 31-14 squad with five student-athletes combining for six distinctions from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) and New England Intercollegiate Softball Coaches Association. Nay received a nod from both organizations. Crowley garnered a first-team nod from the NFCA with West and Burr taking home a second-team and third-team bid, respectively. Pagel, an individual member of Suffolk’s Hall of Fame as part of the 2016 class, represented the Rams on the NEISCA First-Team. 

2005 Softball Team
Angela Belanger, BS '06
Ashleigh Belanger, BSBA '06
Lynn Bennett, BS '06
Brenna Burr, BS '06
Katie Crowley
Tara Davenport
Jenn Elwell
Jill Grant, BSBA '06
Jenna Mourey, BS '08
Christina Nay, BSBA '06
Erin (Pagel) Carey, BS '05 !
Denise Trubia, BS '05
Natalie West
Jackie Zwicker, BGS '17

Head Coach Elaine Schwager
Assistant Coach Shannon Downey
Assistant Coach Jim Feeley
Assistant Coach Michele Fraizer

Team Manager Krstyle Ongaco, BS '04

! Suffolk Hall of Famer

The 2005 squad joins the 1996 team, member of the Suffolk Hall of Fame Class of 2011, as the second softball team enshrined into the University's Athletic Hall of Fame. 

The 2022 Hall of Fame Class features three men, two women and one team representing four different athletic programs. On October 14, the Suffolk University Athletics Hall of Fame, which held its first induction ceremony in 2007, will increase in size to 71 members broken down by 53 student-athletes, four head coaches, 10 teams and four special honorees. 

The 2022 Hall of Fame Class features three men, two women and one team representing four different athletic programs. On October 14, the Suffolk University Athletics Hall of Fame, which held its first induction ceremony in 2007, will increase in size to 71 members broken down by 53 student-athletes, four head coaches, 10 teams and four special honorees.   

The 2022 Suffolk University Athletics Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will be held on Friday, Oct. 14 at Suffolk University’s Sargent Hall's Keches Room, 120 Tremont Street, Boston, at 6:00 p.m. Tickets to the event can be purchased here.  

THE SUFFOLK UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME
The Suffolk University Athletics Hall of Fame will recognize the outstanding achievements of former athletes, coaches and others who have played a most significant role in the history of athletics at our University.  

For a more insider’s look at the 2022 Suffolk University Athletics Hall of Fame Class be on the lookout for the Hall of Fame series, which will be published on GoSuffolkRams.com leading up to the event. Specific publication dates on the inductees can be found below: