Tide Softball Signs First Player From New York
11/24/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
TUSCALOOSA, Ala ?? University of Alabama softball coach Patrick Murphy, who has proven to be one of the best recruiters in the nation throughout his career with the Tide, went into new territory to sign the final member of his 2009 recruiting class, as New York prep star Cassandra Reilly-Boccia has signed a letter of intent to play at Alabama.
"Cassie becomes the first New Yorker to play for Alabama softball,” Murphy said. “When we saw her hit, she reminded us of a combination of Todd Helton and Don Mattingly. Her tremendous power from the left side will help us replace Dani Woods in our lineup. She will be a versatile defensive player who can help us in the outfield or at first base."
Reilly-Boccia becomes the first player in Tide softball history to hail from the Empire State. The Yorktown High School star joins Alabama after a stellar career in the New York prep ranks.
With Reilly-Boccia in the lineup, Yorktown captured league and sectional titles in 2007 and advanced to the quarterfinals of the New York state championship. The team finished with a 25-4 mark last season.
A three-time All-League, All-Section and All-Tri County selection, Reilly-Boccia earned fifth team All-State honors in 2006 and was a first team All-State honoree last year. She was named Hitter of the Year for her class in New York in 2006.
As a first-baseman and outfielder, Reilly-Boccia led the Tri-County region in home runs in 2007 with 12. She was tops on her team in batting average, home runs, walks, slugging percentage and on-base percentage in each of the last three seasons under head coach Becky Melikian.
Also a star for the Jersey Inferno Gold club team, Reilly-Boccia led the Inferno to a top-25 ranking at the Gold Nationals. With her help, her team broke the record for most home runs in a game in club play with five against the Gold Coast Hurricanes. Reilly-Boccia hit safely in all six games for the Inferno, led her team in home runs and hit a homer in seven consecutive club tournaments.
At Yorktown, Reilly-Boccia also competed on the basketball team. She was a member of the school Senate, was on the prom, float and class video committees and was a member of seven honor rolls in her high school career. Reilly-Boccia earned the Tinted Silver Pin Award and was the vice president of her senior class.
The daughter of Christopher and Donna Boccia, Reilly-Boccia is undecided on a major at Alabama.
