| Title: | Class of 2011 |
Amy L. (Ruffo) Panchelli ’00 was an outstanding softball player who made her presence known in the batter’s box as she played in a school-record 144 contests from 1997-2000. While primarily an outfielder, she was the team’s catcher during her sophomore and junior semesters.
In her freshman season, Amy helped propel Worcester State to a 29-9 record and an 11-3 mark in league play to tie for the regular season MASCAC title. She finished her rookie campaign batting .387 with 43 base knocks, a school record nine triples, and led the squad to the semifinals of the ECAC Division III North Tournament.
In 1999, Amy was named to the All-New England team for helping lead the Lancers to a berth in the ECAC Division III North Tournament. She ended the year batting .375 with 38 runs scored, 50 hits and 80 total bases.
In her last season, Amy posted an eye-popping .478 average with 55 hits, 46 runs scored and 92 total bases 34 singles, nine doubles, eight triples and four homers. She was also second in the conference in batting and RBIs (33) while her triples, slugging percentage (.487) and runs were in the top 35 of the NCAA Division III statistics standings.
A two-time captain, Amy ended her Worcester State career with four All-MASCAC selections and three nods to the First-Team. She was honored with the Worcester State Female “Lancer” Award in 2000. Head Coach Lynne Olson also recognized her as the team’s “unsung” hero in 1996 and 1997 and the squad MVP in 1997 and 1998.
Amy finished with an impressive four-year batting average of
.406. She is among the school leaders with 129 singles, 24 doubles,
31 triples, 14 homers, 92 RBIs, 159 runs scored and 33 stolen
bases. Her triples are currently tied for eighth in the NCAA
Division III Softball career list and her 29-game hit streak during
the 1998 season is tied for the longest in Division III
history.