Amanda Berry
Softball
2002-03
The Youngstown State softball team is having their best season in school history and a major reason for that is junior first baseman Amanda Berry.
Berry, a co-captain who has helped lead the Penguins to more than 30 victories for the first time ever this season, is the recipient of the 2003 Vindicator YSU Female Athlete-of-the-Year award.
She is the first YSU female junior and softball player to earn the athlete-of-the-year honor.
Berry has put together one of the best all around campaigns in school history. She is batting .326, has 47 hits, scored 28 runs, has tied a school record with 33 runs batted in, clubbed 11 doubles and belted seven home runs. She has also been steady in the field making 319 putouts and owning a .980 fielding percentage. This season she leads YSU with 14 multi-hit games and eight multi-RBI games.
The Penguins’ cleanup hitter set a school record on March 22 with six RBI against Maris and tied the school mark with two homers.
Through Monday, Berry leads the Horizon League in runs batted in and is second in hits, home runs, total bases and slugging percentage. She ranks third in doubles, fourth in runs scored and sixth in batting average.
This weekend, Berry and her Youngstown State teammates conclude the 2003 regular season at Illinois-Chicago. Two wins by YSU over the Flames will give the Penguins their first softball conference title in school history.
Berry has been the mainstay of the Youngstown State program the past three seasons. In her three years with the program, she has played in 137 games, starting all but one contest.
She ranks in the YSU career top five in six offensive categories: her .314 batting average ranks fourth, her 10 home runs are second, her 32 career doubles are third, her .475 slugging percentage is third, her seven triples tie for third, while her 65 RBI rank fifth. She has been just as sharp with the glove committing just 15 errors in 1,053 career chances.
Berry had successful seasons during her sophomore and freshman season as well.
Last year, Berry led the team with a .336 batting average and was named second team All Horizon League. Her average ranked her eighth in the conference. She was excellent in the field with a .989 fielding percentage making just six errors in 405 chances.
As a freshman she started every game for YSU and was a second team All Mid-Continent selection. She led the Penguins with a .284 average and 44 hits.
A graduate of Lorain Catholic High School, she has a 2.9 cumulative grade-point average in Criminal Justice. Amanda’s parents are Dan and Lynn Berry.
Â
