Courtesy Massachusetts Maritime Sports Information

Buzzards Bay, Mass. --  Lindsay DeStefano, who enjoyed a stellar playing career at Emerson College while also serving in a pair of coaching positions, has been named as Head Softball Coach at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy.  DeStefano’s appointment, effective immediately, was confirmed today by Bob Corradi, Massachusetts Maritime’s Director of Athletics.

A resident of Centerville, Mass., DeStefano replaces Ashley Lorance, who resigned as the Academy’s Head Softball and Volleyball Coach last month to pursue other career opportunities in the South.  A 2008 graduate of Emerson with a degree in Broadcast Journalism, DeStefano was both the Lions’ captain and team MVP as a senior and was a three-time all-Great Northeast Athletic Conference, National Fast Pitch Coaches Association All-Regional and New England Softball Coaches Association all-star selection.  Lindsay also excelled in the classroom as a three-time CoSIDA ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District and GNAC All-Academic Team honoree, and additionally she was named as an ECAC Division III New England All-Star following her junior campaign.

A two-sport standout at Emerson, DeStefano also shined on the basketball court for the Lions and served as a four-year member of the school’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.  A member of both the National Fast Pitches Coaches Association and the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletic Administrators, Lindsay earned her master’s degree in Sports Leadership from Northeastern University this spring.

“I’m very excited and looking forward to working with a group of outstanding student-athletes,” DeStefano said of her appointment.  “I’m extremely grateful to Coach Corradi for this opportunity and am ready to get to work on behalf of the Buccaneer program.”

In addition to her vast playing experience, DeStefano served as Assistant Softball Coach at Emmanuel College following graduation and helped run all facets of the Saints’ program.  She currently serves as the head coach of the Bay State Thunder AAU (18 under) squad out of Braintree, Mass., and during the 2009-10 academic year Lindsay was an Asa S. Bushnell Sports Administration intern at the Eastern College Athletic Conference, where she managed public relations for the organization’s leagues and affiliates while assisting in marketing and communications.

“Lindsay brings great enthusiasm, passion and dedication to our staff as our new softball coach, and I’m very excited both for her and for our student-athletes,” Corradi said of DeStefano’s appointment.  “She has enjoyed a successful playing and coaching career in a very short time, and I’m confident that she will be guiding our program down that same path.”

Massachusetts Maritime will begin the Lindsay DeStefano era on the softball diamond on Saturday, March 19, 2011 when the Buccaneers host Lyndon State in a non-league doubleheader at Alison Rollins Field beginning at 1:00 p.m. EDT.