Embree, Horstman join New England pro softball team

May 20, 2008

Former St. Thomas softball All-American Carrie Embree has become just the second Division III player to sign a professional contract to play in the National Pro Fastpitch League. Embree has signed to play with the New England Riptide, which opens its 2008 season next week.

The Riptide, located in Lowell, Mass., is starting its fifth season in the six-team NPF. The Riptide hired seven-year St. Thomas assistant coach Brad Horstman as its head coach. They Riptide was league champion last season and returns 13 of its 16 players, including all of its starters.

Horstman has worked under one of the nation's top mentors and technicians in John Tschida. The Tommies received National Coaching Staff of the Year honors in 2004 and 2005 and the same regional honor in 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2006. St. Thomas won the national championship in 2004 and 2005, placed second in 2006 and fifth in 2002.

Horstman has been a part of St. Thomas teams that have the best winning percentange in Division III softball this decade. In his seven seasons St. Thomas is 291-38 (.884%), including a 164-5 record (.970%) vs. conference opponents. The Tommies never trailed in a 14-0 run through NCAA playoff games in 2004 and 2005.

St. Thomas' 37-7 postseason record in the Tschida/Horstman tenure includes a 15-0 all-time record in conference playoffs. The Toms broke the Division III record for consecutive wins in 2004-05 with 43, and currently have a 57-game conference win streak.

The Tommies broke the NCAA Division III record for home runs in a season with 72 in 52 games in 2006. The 2008 Tommies hit the third most ever by a Division III team with 60 in 47 games. St. Thomas players have won Division III All-America honors 15 times over the last six seasons. Among the players Horstman has coached were Embree, Nikki Conway, Janet Nagle, Michelle Wong and Maria Bye. Conway and Nagle played in 2006 for the Michigan Ice professional team. Conway was the second player in Division III history to surpass 40 HRs, 200 runs and 200 hits. Bye is the first Division III player to surpass 35 home runs as a batter and eclipse 800 strikeouts and 85 career wins on the mound. Nagle and Wong were both named national Players of the Year.  

Embree was the lone female in MIAC history to play on two NCAA title teams, make All-America twice, and make CoSIDA Academic All-America twice. She also was named conference Player of the Year in basketball in 2007-08 and won conference championships on all five Tommie teams she competed in softball and basketball. She helped the Toms win the 2004 and 2005 NCAA softball titles, take second in 2006, and receive the No. 1 ranking for most of 2007. A clutch hitter, Embree had 21 hits and a .500 batting average in 15 career NCAA playoff games. In her four-year era, St. Thomas went 169-18, including a 98-2 mark vs. conference foes. She started 146 of the Toms' last 147 games, and was three-time all-conference honoree. As a senior, she had a hit or run in each of her last 41 games, and hit .479 with 67 hits, 54 runs, 39 RBI, 15 doubles, two triples, seven HRs and 35 SBs, and had only three errors in 195 chances. She also went 12-1 on the mound with an 0.77 ERA, 103 strikeouts and 13 walks in 92 innings. She was named Division III National Player of the Week in March 2007 after she led the Toms to an 11-1 finish on their spring trip to California. In 169 career games she had 218 hits, 160 runs, 115 RBI, 51 walks, 30 2Bs, seven 3Bs and 16 HRs. She broke the conference record with 109 stolen bases and closed third in conference career hits. In 53 career pitching appearances went 14-1 with a 1.08 ERA and 171 strikeouts and 30 walks in 182 innings. In 2006, she shattered the conference record for season hits and led Division III with 80 hits in 52 games. She also was named the Division III baserunner of the year as she received the NFCA's 2006 adidas Golden Spikes Award. She also one of three finalists for the 2006-07 MIAC Female Student-Athlete of the Year as chosen by College Sporting News.

The 2008 National Pro Fastpitch season will officially begin on May 29 and will run until mid-August with regular-season games, followed by championship playoffs. The six teams in 2008 are the New England Riptide, Akron Racers, Chicago Bandits, Philadelphia Force, Rockford Thunder and the Washington Glory. Players in the league come from across the country, and include past Olympians, past U.S. national team members, players from the former professional softball league (WPSL), College World Series winners and participants, and other outstanding former college players. The league has a minimum age of 21, and most players fall into the range of age 21 through early 30s.

Click here to learn more about the 2008 Riptide team:

http://www.neriptide.com/
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