| Year: | 2024 |
| Team: | Softball |
It takes a lot to be first in any NCAA program, but Erin McAndrews stepped up to the plate.
McAndrews transferred to Suffolk’s squad from Sacred Heart as a sophomore in 2012. She made her name known from the get-go with 42 hits including 12 doubles and six triples for 39 runs batted in en route to her first All-Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) selection with a spot on the second team.
A year later, she not only one-upped those numbers, but cemented herself as one of Suffolk’s all-time greats. She led the Rams in almost every offensive category and set the pace among GNAC players in batting average, triples and RBI. In 37 games as a junior, she batted .479, had 26 extra base knocks including five homers, six triples and 15 doubles. She drove in 42 runs and slugged at a .838 percentage. For her efforts she was awarded GNAC Player of the Year, the fourth Ram to pick up the feat in program history, as well as a first-team all-conference nod and a GNAC All-Tournament Team honor.
The saying “save the best for last” was true for McAndrews. She continued to build on her success as a senior as she rewrote the program’s single-season hit record in a GNAC doubleheader over Anna Maria when she went 7-for-9 in the twinbill sweep of the AMCATS. She wrapped up the season with 68 hits, which remains atop Suffolk’s single-season list today. Those hits were behind a .486 batting average and featured nine triples, also good for first on the Rams’ single-season rankings.
For her efforts in between the white lines in 2014 she scooped up her second first-team all-league distinction.
From 2012-14, McAndrews scattered her name throughout the Rams’ record books, where it remains a decade later. Her career slash line of .440/.760/498 sits fifth, third and fourth, respectively on Suffolk’s all-time list, while her total hits (165), RBI (123), total bases (285), doubles (42) and triples (21) land among the Rams’ top-10 as well.
Opponent twirlers feared the right-handed hitter. One of the toughest batters to strikeout, she was only fanned 30 times in her 377 plate appearances.
In the field, she was nearly perfect at either catcher or on the left side of the infield with a .961 career fielding percentage, good for 10th all-time.
The Marblehead, Massachusetts, native was named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Northeast All-Region First-Team twice, in 2013 and 2014. She is the second-ever Ram at the time to garner a pair of all-region awards from the national organization.
McAndrews earned her Bachelors of Science in Criminal Justice Studies in May 2014 and went on to earn her J.D. at UMass Dartmouth. Today, she works as an Assistant Direct Attorney for Essex County.