Hartford will look to bring in fresh talent to improve the team from past years. Courtesy of HartfordHawks.com
Seven student-athletes, have officially signed their National Letter of Intent to play softball at the University of Hartford next spring.
This makes the largest recruiting class, head coach Diana Consolmagno, has brought in since she was appointed head coach in the summer of 2010.
The class of 2018 players consist of three infielders, an outfielder and three pitchers. Alex Saharek (Wethersfield, Conn.), Jamie Soles (New Egypt, N.J.) and Brittany Wallace (Salem, N.H.) will take control of the infield, while Lauren Sustad (Merrick, N.Y.) will catch all of the fly balls in the outfield.
The newest pitchers for the Hawks will be Kristen Andrews (Commack, N.Y.), Kelsey Bird (Franklin, N.H.) and Kiersten Coho (East Freedom, Pa.)
Andrews was a dominant force on both sides of the ball at Commack High School, with a 1.78 ERA as a junior this past spring and batting an astounding .433 batting average.
With 26 RBI, Andrews was appointed All-League and All-Division for the second time in as many seasons while leading the Cougars to back-to-back Suffolk County League 1 titles.
An infielder, Saharek, a member of the varsity squad at Wethersfield High School, she has served as the starting catcher and clean-up hitter for a team that has made three-straight Connecticut Class L tournament appearances.
Saharek’s .492 batting average has been a part of back-to-back CCC North Championships as well. A three-time recipient of the CCC North All-Academic Team award, she has earned All-Conference recognition from the CCC North the last two years.
A member of the softball team at New Egypt High School, Soles batted .427 last season, scoring 26 runs while driving-in 12 more on 32 hits.
As a middle infielder, she has compiled an impressive .998 career fielding percentage and is a two-time BCSL All-Conference honoree who took home First-Team accolades in 2013.
During her career, Soles has also earned All-County Second-Team, All-State Group 1 Third-Team and Trentonian All-Area Team recognition while leading the team to the title game of the New Jersey Group 1 state championship in 2012.
Coho, a right-handed pitcher, hurled 140 innings last season for Claysburg Kimmel High School and recorded 155 strikeouts while allowing just 34 runs.
Finishing the campaign with a 1.15 ERA for the District 6 Class champions and PIAA quarterfinalists, she earned a spot on the All-State First Team.
Hartford will start this season with the Hampton Tournament in Virginia. The games will start on Feb. 28 with the first matchup against Columbia at 11 a.m.