By Kiley O’Donnell
Sports Assignment Editor
Alexandra Piergustavo, a first baseman for the St. Bonaventure University softball team, has broken out during sophomore season for the Bonnies.
A native of Milford, Massachusetts, she has a .306 batting average on the season with three homeruns and 16 RBIs. Piergustavo, who has been playing softball since she was 6-years-old, was a Boston Herald All-Scholastic All-Star as a senior in high school.
Traveling from the eastern part of Massachusetts, it takes her about eight hours to get back to campus from home. She said the family-like atmosphere, academic programs and competitive softball team are what drove her to choose Bonaventure.
Piergustavo based a lot of her time in the offseason on conditioning for the season ahead. Her goals ranged from going to the Atlantic 10 Championships, to becoming a main force on the team.
“Strength and conditioning were definitely main aspect[s] of my off-season training. I train at Athletic Based Training in Milford, Massachusetts, and owe a lot of my success to their awesome trainers. I do the majority of my softball training with my dad,” said Piergustavo. “My (personal) goals coming into the season included better recognition of the inside pitch and [to] become as much of a contributor to my team as possible. My team goals coming into the season include qualifying for the A10 tournament in May.”
Last week, Piergustavo was named GoBonnies.com Athlete of the Week after capping off a successful road campaign. In a victory against Cleveland State, she notched a three-run homerun, against Niagara she went 4-4 and went 3-3 with three RBI vs. Jacksonville.
“We were nearing the end of our Florida trip, and we had already played nine games in a little over a week, so we were all a little mentally and physically exhausted. We were all trying to stay sharp during our last weekend of the trip and make the most of our last games,” said Piergustavo.
She discussed how the mentality in the sport is what the differential can be.
“Softball is a mental game more than it is physical. Playing through the last weekend in Jacksonville, I was doing my best to stay sharp and get quality wins for our team. My production at the plate was a direct result of wanting the best for my team and wanting to finish strong, since we worked so hard that entire trip.”
The team’s A10 schedule will be starting up soon, and she said she is more than ready for the competition that the Bonnies await.
“One thing I am definitely looking forward to right now is our A10 games, which starts Saturday against UMass. The competition is always high and I can’t wait to see all of our team’s hard work pay off,” said Piergustavo.
Off the diamond, Piergustavo said her team is extremely close, which translates well on the field. She credited her teammates as being her biggest motivators and making her give it her all.
“It is so important to have team chemistry in softball because your friendship with your teammates off the field translates to how you play as a team on the field,” said Piergustavo. “We are lucky to have such a tight-knit team, which translates well on the field and really helps us work together.”
Bonaventure has truly been a great experience for Piergustavo so far, and she believes that if she went somewhere else, her college experience would have been drastically different.
“My biggest motivator on and off the field is my team. My teammates motivate me everyday to be the best player I can be, and I hope to do the same for them,” said Piergustavo. “My favorite thing about softball is all of the friendships I have made through the sport. Playing college softball has helped me meet my best friends, and I believe this is an experience I could not have had anywhere else.”
The Bonnies will be traveling to Youngstown, Ohio to take on the Youngstown State Penguins on March 23.
odonneke16@bonaventure.edu
