Mercy senior Astin Donovan is taking her talents to South Florida.
Donovan, a shortstop who led the Tigers to the Southern Connecticut Conference tournament title and an appearance in the Class LL state championship game last season, signed her National Letter of Intent last week to play Division I softball at the University of South Florida.
“South Florida is getting not only a great athlete but a great person,” said Mercy softball coach Tony Calcagni. “Astin’s impact on our program is just as important and meaningful off the field as on. She has been a wonderful young woman to coach.”
Donovan, a lefty slap hitter batted .491 with 56 hits, 37 runs and 33 RBIs, and was named New Haven Register All Area MVP.
Donovan has played extensively with the Gold Coast Hurricanes, a travel team based out of Florida with numerous other highly regarded high school players.
“Astin is an athlete that will add to our speed game,” said South Florida softball coach Ken Eriksen. “However, don’t be surprised if she pops a few over the wall. Her incredible athleticism gives us a tremendous amount of diversity as far as the defensive side of the field is concerned,”
Said Donovan, “Winning SCC was terrific and everything fell into place last year. We worked hard as a team and it showed. I look forward to playing at the college level as a USF Bull.”
