Return to the top: Amesbury's Waters named America East player of the year

The University of Maine softball team's record book may soon resemble that of Amesbury High with Ashley Waters' name dominating the pages.

Waters, a second baseman at UMaine, was named America East Conference player of the year Wednesday evening after leading the conference in hits (58), home runs (10) and total bases (101). It is the first time Waters has earned the award in college after receiving Cape Ann League player of the year honors three times (2003, 2004, 2005) at Amesbury.

"You never expect something like this," Waters said yesterday. "I knew I had good (statistics). It was a goal in the beginning of the season, and I've been shooting for it. But it's still always great to get that call from the coach."

Waters' success at UMaine should come as no surprise to Amesbury softball fans who remember the right-hander's success on the mound from 2002 to 2005. In high school, she logged a record of 82-10 with a 0.54 ERA and 744 career strikeouts.

Waters accepted a full scholarship to UMaine during her senior season and moved to second base as a freshman. She hit .252 and scored 31 runs that season, earning a spot on the All-America East Conference rookie team.

She improved as a sophomore, leading the team in hits (56) and batting average (.348). She was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Second Team following that season.

This season, her power emerged after an increased focus on strength and conditioning. She helped the team break the school record for home runs and is only 50 hits shy of the school record.

"Our emphasis all offseason was on building strength and maintaining our conditioning level," said UMaine softball coach Stacey Sullivan. "This was by far her best season, but the power numbers really stood out. She made great adjustments at the plate. She's a really tough batter to face."

The Black Bears captain twice earned America East player of the week honors and once was named Eastern College Athletic Conference player of the week. She opened the season at the University of Hawaii Spring Fling Invitational against national powerhouses like Texas, North Carolina and Texas Tech and was named to the All-Tournament team.

"I work at hitting a lot, and this year I saw the ball really well," Waters said. "My hands were getting through the ball."

UMaine opened the season with 28 consecutive losses before its first conference game. The Black Bears finished 10-11 against America East competition and missed the conference tournament by one game.

"It was a tough year," Waters said. "We had to play a lot of great teams, but we experienced a lot of growth. We'll be a better team next year because of it."

Waters will return to Amesbury this summer to train at the high school and Latitude Fitness with her best friend and fellow Amesbury alumnus Tara DeMontier, who starred at American International College this spring. She will have the motivation of two consecutive seasons at UMaine in which the squad has missed the conference tournament. She would like to finish her collegiate career the way she started it as a freshman — with an America East title.

"I said to Ashley this morning, 'What do I say to motivate a player who is the returning player of the year?'" Sullivan said. "She still has big feats ahead. She wants that career hits record, but I'm sure she's more focused on the team goals. She's very vocal about wanting to return to the tournament. That motivates others to step up and contribute. She has smart expectations of her teammates."

When Ashley Waters was a senior at Amesbury High in 2005, she had a 25-1 record on the mound and pitched eight no-hitters including four perfect games. She also had a school record .624 batting average with 11 home runs, 45 RBIs and 40 runs scored.

Amesbury's Ashley Waters, a junior softball player at University of Maine, was recently named America East player of the year. Her season statistics include:

Photos

Former Amesbury softball star Ashley Waters was selected as the America East Conference player of the year. The University of Maine second baseman led the league in hits and home runs. Staff photo