Keri Lemasters enters her third season as head softball coach at Suffolk University. In her first year at the helm, the Rams led the nation at the Division III level in triples per game (.68). Each year the Rams under Lemasters have steadily improved their record and in the 2009 season she led the team to a 22-18 showing with a 3rd place finish in the GNAC.
Lemasters career record at the collegiate level is 39 and 38. She has taken her team to post season play every year that she has coached. She has produced one NFCA All-American (Jessica Ferreira 2006, 2009), three GNAC Softball Players of the Year (Jessica Ferreira 2007, 2008, 2009). Four Rams have earned All-GNAC honors during Lemasters tenure: Jessica Ferreira (2008, 2009), Ashley Gaboriault (2008), Marie Trainor (2009), and Monica Cioffi (2009). Two Rams were selected for the All-Northeast Region Team: Jessica Ferreira (2008, 2009) and Marie Trainor (2009). Lemasters has coached one ESPN CoSIDA Academic All-District award winner Monica Cioffi (2009).
A resident of Wilmington, Mass., Lemasters serves as Associate
Athletic Director, Suffolk's Senior Woman Administrator and
Assistant Volleyball Coach along with her other duties. In the 2006
and 2007 season, Lemasters assisted will all aspects of the Ram
softball program, including game and practice preparation,
recruiting and strength & conditioning. Lemasters helped guide
Suffolk to an overall mark of 47-32 (.595) during her two seasons
as Assistant Softball Coach.
A 1999 graduate of Michigan State University, Lemasters earned
All-American honors with the Spartans in 1996 and was a four-year
All-Big Ten Conference and Great Lakes Region performer. Keri set
Michigan State single season and career records for hits, doubles,
triples, extra base hits, sacrifices, runs scored, at bats, and
games played while starting every game at either second base or
shortstop during her time in East Lansing.
Lemasters also has a national team career spanning back to 1997 where she started with the United States National Softball Team. In 1997 she was a member of the team that won the silver medal at Superball '97 in Columbus, Ga. Lemasters was a member of the gold medal squad at the 1997 USA Softball National Team Festival in Midland, Michigan. Following her tenure with the national softball team she played professionally in the Women's Professional Fast Pitch League for the Durham (N.C.) Dragons in 1999. In 2002, she switched gears and got back to her early roots of baseball and competed on the United States National Women's Baseball team. In 2004 she was a member of the first ever Women's World Cup team. Lemasters helped the US take the first gold medal in the World Cup '04 in Edmonton, Alberta where she was also awarded Best Defensive Player of the tournament. In 2006, her USA Baseball team defended the championship title and took home the gold medal winning the World Cup '06 in Taiwan. In 2008, Lemasters competed in the third World Cup in Matsuyama, Japan where the USA team captured the bronze medal. Lemasters was the starting shortstop in the International World Series of Women's Baseball in Florida 02', Australia 03', and Japan 04'.
A collegiate camp instructor at both Michigan State and UCLA,
Lemasters also served as the lead instructor for two years for the
Malden (Mass.) Little League Softball Camp in 2004 and 2005. Her
professional experience outside of intercollegiate athletics
includes a three-year tenure as a police officer in Raleigh, N.C.
and a four-year stint as a Grant Administrator at Massachusetts
General Hospital.
Jess Ferreira enters her first season as an Assistant Softball Coach and will also serve as Graduate Assistant for the Suffolk University Athletic Department. She will serve on Head Coach Keri Lemasters' staff as the team's pitching coach. Her primary responsibilities will include in-game and practice preparation, and recruiting coordinator. Ferreira graduated from Suffolk in 2009, where she was a four-year starter for the Rams finishing an illustrious two-way career for the Rams in the infield and on the mound. Ferreira is a two-time NFCA All-American at both the shortstop and second base position. She is a three-time Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Player of the Year and was the GNAC Rookie of the Year her freshman year. She was twice selected as an NEISCA All-New England Region first team all-star, and was a four-time All GNAC selection. Ferreira excelled off the field as well bring named to ESPN the Magazine's Academic All-District team in 2008.
Ferreira finished her four-year career among the all-time NCAA Division-III Softball career leaders. In 155 games played, she ranks in the top 25 in two categories; batting average (tied 24th all-time) and home runs (tied 14th all-time). She ranks in the top 10 in two categories: RBI's (tied 8th all-time) and career slugging percentage (7th all-time).She posted a .531 career on-base percentage and had 227 career hits. In 2008, Ferreira led the nation with a 1.073 slugging percentage. In 2007 she traveled to Amsterdam to play for the United States in a world softball tournament.
Ferreira is currently pursuing her Masters degree in
Administration of Higher Education (M.Ed). She also volunteers with
several softball leagues in her hometown on Cambridge, Mass..
