The Roadrunner Softball team closed out the career of legendary Coach Steve DePasquale on a solid note Friday thanks to their 9-2 triumph over Suffolk County CC (NY) in the NJCAA Division III World Series in DeWitt, NY.
The victory was No. 962 in DePasquale's career, one in which Coach "D" won two NJCAA D III national championships and 9 Region 19 titles over a 32-year span as the program's only coach. Earlier this spring, the veteran skipper announced this would be his final season. This spring proved to be another successful campaign as the Runners finished with a remarkable 39-9 record in winning the Region 19 championship and earning a berth in the NJCAA Division III World Series.
The Runners, seeded #5 in the tournament, dropped a heart-breaking 11-9 decision to #4 SUNY Corning followed by an 8-7 loss to #8 Erie County College in the first two rounds. But the pain of those two losses were swept aside as DePasquale's players sent their coach out on a winning note, enabling the team to finish seventh in the nation overall.
"All the players and coaches alike were excited coming into the national tournament, and as always the competition was really tough," DePasquale said. "That being said, our players never gave up -- to their credit, they regrouped after the first two games and played well against a very talented Suffolk County team."
Regarding Friday's win over a familiar opponent -- RCSJ and Suffolk split two regular season games -- the Runners' veteran and freshmen players all chipped in to make this a happy ending for their beloved coach.
RCSJ raced to a 6-2 lead thanks to three RBIs from All-Star shortstop Angelina Lindner and offensive help from teammates Jordan Johnson, Rylee Finnegan and Ella Crosbee during a five-run fourth inning. Sophomore pitcher Emily Childs turned in a solid performance as well.
DePasquale then closed out the game with his talented freshmen leading the way. Players such as Jillian Logeren, Rachel Farr, Bridgett Levandoski, Natalie Pogorzelski, Anna Hargraves, Jenna Irrgang, Jordyn Rivera, Natalie Urban and Gianna Maiore displayed a bright future as they held the Sharks scoreless over the final innings while adding on an additional 3 runs in the seventh inning to put the contest out of reach.
"We knew early on that we were going to honor our sophomores and give them a great send off before we closed it out with our freshmen to showcase our future," said Coach DePasquale. "We had a 6-2 lead when the freshmen came in -- and these young players showed everyone that we have a bright future as a program."
Early in 2026, word spread that DePasquale was retiring at the end of the current season. Asked whether that affected recruiting efforts for the 2027 season, DePasquale said it had no bearing on the program's overall operations.
"We recruited with honesty and integrity," he said. "We have a great staff in place already here plus a ton of support from our administration. We told the incoming athletes that I was retiring but that they will have a tremendous coaching staff plus support in place for the future. We've been very successful with our recruiting efforts.
"Plus I will come around occasionally next season in case any immediate assistance is needed. The program will continue to be fundamentally sound and successful."