The winningest coach in the history of the Bryant Universitysoftball program, Coach Lisa-Ann Wallace has taken the Bulldogs toheights never seen prior to her arrival. As she looks to her 13thseason as head coach in the spring of 2013, Wallace will look toassure that Bryant is well prepared for it's first season as afull-time Division I program.
Amongst Wallace's many accomplishments during her time with theBlack and Gold was the program's extraordinary run during its finalfew years in the Northeast-10 Conference (D-II). Coach Wallace ledBryant to five-straight NCAA tournament appearances, two timesserving as regional hosts during that stretch, in addition to apair of conference championship titles, three conference players ofthe year and one conference pitcher of the year.
In addition to the success on the diamond, Wallace'sstudent-athletes have also succeeded in the classroom as well,including numerous academic all-conference recognitions andscholar-athlete awards and one NCAA Woman of the YearHonoree.
Recently wrapping up the program's fourth and final season ofreclassification to the Division I level, the Bulldogs finished20-25 (11-9 in the NEC). Wallace's squad boasted two NortheastConference first-teamers, sophomore Aubrey Mable, and freshmanMadeline Velasquez.
In the Bulldogs' third season competing at the D-I level,Wallace made huge strides as the Bulldogs finished the 2011campaign with a record of 25-19, with a 14-6 mark in the NortheastConference that was good for a second-place tie at the end of theregular season. During the program's most successful seasonin Divsion I to date, Bryant picked up non-conference wins overUtah Valley, Detroit, Lafayette, Yale and Harvard before the startof conference play. Highlighting the team's best season atthe Division I level yet was Wallace's 300th victory behind thebench.
Several individuals were honored for their strong play in 2011,including three players being named to the All-NEC Second Team, twoNEC Player of the Week recipients, and three NEC Rookie of the Weekwinners.
From 2009-2010, Coach Wallace and her staff led the Bulldogs to19 wins. The Bulldogs’ 2010 season was highlighted byseason-sweeps of both Saint Francis (PA) and Holy Cross, the firstNEC accolade and a sophomore finish in the top-10 for overallbatting average.
Bryant defeated Saint Francis (PA) 6-0 and 8-5 in back-to-backgames and later dropped Holy Cross by a margin of 7-2 for thesecond time of the season. Freshman Brittany Lischinsky made Bryantsoftball history by picking up the program’s first-ever NECaccolade. Following the Saint Francis (PA) doubleheader, in whichshe went a combined 5-8 with a homerun, four RBIs and three runsscored, Lischinsky was named NEC Rookie of the Week. The freshmanfinished the season ranked second on the team with a battingaverage of .296.
The 2010 season also saw sophomore Laura Bowen finish 10th inthe NEC in batting average (.344) and third in the conference insingle-season doubles (17). Bowen’s 17 doubles also moved herinto second place in the Bryant all-time record book. The Hudson,Mass. native led the Bulldogs in nearly every statistical categoryincluding: batting average (.344), at-bats (131), runs scored (20),hits (45), doubles (17), homeruns (3), RBIs (18), total bases (71),slugging percentage (.542), walks drawn (19) and on-base percentage(.442).
The years of Division II came to a conclusion in fine fashion in2008. The Bulldogs enjoyed a 30-16 record and again reached theNE-10 Conference tournament final series thanks to the masterfulpitching of NE-10 Pitcher of the Year Janine Enos and qualified forthe school's fifth-straight NCAA tournament.
After inheriting a team that went 4-37 in 2000, Wallace andassistant Nancy Burgess took the Bulldogs from perennial conferencecellar-dwellers to a conference powerhouse.
"It's been a privilege to coach here at Bryant," said Wallace."These student-athletes over the past nine years have created atradition of winning both in the classroom and on the field. Allincoming freshman should be honored to put on a Bryant uniform andcontinue the winning tradition."
Prior to her arrival, the Bulldogs suffered through a 4-37 (1-17in conference) season in 2000, but in Wallace's first year, theBulldogs improved to 14-40 in 2001 and 22-24 in 2002. Theturnaround certainly didn't go unnoticed as she was named the 2002Northeast-10 Coach of the Year by her colleagues.
But it was in 2004 that saw the program take a major stepforward, not just within the conference, but on a regional level aswell. Finishing 20-8 in the NE-10, the Bulldogs were honoredwith not only its first-ever NCAA tournament berth, but the rightto host the tournament at the Bryant SoftballComplex.
A year later in 2005, the Bulldogs finished with a 22-6conference record and captured the Northeast-10 Conferencetournament title for the first time and saw three student-athletesearn all-conference honors.
The 2006 season saw Bryant capture its first-ever Northeast-10regular season and second consecutive conference tournamentchampionship with a 23-5 conference record (29-18 overall). Withit, the Bulldogs headed off to yet another NCAA tournament andcollected some serious hardware along the way as seven Bulldogsgarnered all-conference honors by the Northeast-10.
In 2007, the Bulldogs made their fourth consecutive trip to theNCAA Tournament, held at C.W. Post's campus in Brookville, NY. TheBulldogs defeated East Coast Conference champion Dowling College,the Northeast-10 Tournament champ UMass-Lowell and regionalpowerhouse Adelphi before coming up just short to host C.W. Post inthe regional finals. It was the furthest the Bulldogs had everadvanced in the NCAA Tournament.
During a four-year span, Bryant captured four major conferenceawards, including three NE-10 Conference Players of the Year.Infielder Deidre Kittridge, catcher Jordan Dargon and centerfielderAmanda Wilbur would win three consecutive conference player of theyear honors from 2005-2007. A year later, in the Bulldogs’last season at the DII level, Janine Enos was awarded theconference pitcher of the year award to make it four-straight.
In her 11 seasons at Bryant (eight as a member of theNortheast-10 Conference), Wallace coached a total of 27all-conference selections. In the six years before her arrival,only one Bulldog made the all-conference team (Lauren Smolinsky in1995).
A 1987 graduate of Westfield State (Mass.), where she was anall-conference catcher, Wallace started her head coaching career atFitchburg State (Mass.) in 1995 and needed just three years to setthe Falcons' single-season record for victories.
Her 1998 team finished 21-14-1, and Wallace was recognized asthe Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference Coach of theYear for her efforts.
In 2000, Wallace and Fitchburg State registered the highestwinning percentage of any college softball team in New England, asthe Falcons compiled a 20-5 mark and placed second in the MASCACbehind perennial Division III power Bridgewater State.
Wallace left Fitchburg State as the winningest coach in theprogram's history.
