Features spring 2019
‘Cat Couples: Baseball player Jay Lynch and softball player Colleen Dougherty
It all began in PLSC 113 (Intro to Comparative Politics) during the fall of 2010 in Lecture Hall 14. The paths of sophomore baseball player Jay Lynch and freshman softball player Colleen Dougherty intersected amid discussions of government policies and more poignantly, the Philadelphia Eagles.
Lynch was a sophomore economics major and starting pitcher for the baseball team and Dougherty was just starting her collegiate career as an art major and outfielder on the softball team.
There were bunches of baseball and softball student-athletes in the class and as is often the case with those closely-aligned sports, the two teams mingled. Jay and Colleen found common ground as diehard Eagles fans, though Jay maintained his fan superiority as a Philadelphia-area native, over Colleen’s New York State roots. The pair saw each other primarily among groups of friends that season. In the spring, both were fully absorbed with their respective seasons, which more so than most other BU sports teams, involve heavy travel and congested game and practice schedules, thanks to the brief spring climate in the Northeast.
Jay had been a starting pitcher since coming to campus from his home in Exton, Pa. As a freshman in 2010, he won five games (6th in America East), was named to the America East All-Rookie Team and played a prominent role as BU captured its fourth straight conference regular season title with a 21-3 league mark. He then went 4-1 in conference play (3.19 ERA) as a sophomore and earned second team all-conference honors.
Meanwhile, Colleen worked her way into the rigors of Division I softball. A two-time captain and all-county second baseman at Riverhead High on Long Island, she had a career .504 batting average in high school and was a scholar-athlete. Her freshman season at Binghamton in 2011, she played in 26 games and used her trademark speed to steal five bases for a Bearcats team that placed third in the America East.
Former softball standout opens coaching academy in Binghamton
It’s mid-December 2018 and Cara Martin is at the Pitch Perfect Softball Academy, which is located three miles from Binghamton University. She opened up the academy earlier in the fall and is in the middle of a week in which she will coach 30 girls—ranging from youth age to college players—in the aspects of pitching. Martin oversees a staff of five other local coaches, who work with players on the other fundamentals of softball.
It has been nearly four years since Martin helped lead Binghamton to the 2015 America East softball championship and almost three years since she concluded her senior season. Wearing Binghamton gear, she remains deeply appreciative of what the Bearcat program has meant to her.
In the fall of 2012, however, things were very different for Martin. She played her freshman year of college softball at the University of Rhode Island but left at the start of her sophomore year. Originally from nearby Windsor, New York, she was missing home. When she subsequently enrolled at Binghamton University to take classes, she was convinced that her softball days were behind her.
Softball student-athletes enjoy return to home state of California
Like most collegiate softball teams in the Northeast, Binghamton begins each season by either flying South or heading out West to play its first several games. This year, the Bearcats headed out to Northridge, California for the CSUN Early Bird Classic on Feb. 14-16 to launch their 2019 campaign.
Binghamton made the most of the trip, compiling a 3-1 record against programs that had begun their seasons earlier in the month. But there was a lot more to the weekend for the Bearcats than just their games on the field.
Since moving up to the NCAA Division I level in 2001, Binghamton had only made it out to California twice before this season – in 2009 and 2016. Needless to say, this was a trip that had everyone on the team excited. That joy was taken to another level for four players in particular.
Sophomores Hannah Lyons, Alex Guay, Makayla Alvarez and Madison Germano are all from California. Unlike most of their teammates, who are from back East, their families don’t get to see them play in person much. Coming back home to California gave them that unique opportunity.https://bubearcats.com/news/2019/2/26/softball-at-home-in-california.aspx?path=softball