Berry, Amanda
AMANDA BERRY
Amanda Berry was a tremendous all-around athlete at Lorain Catholic High School earning 12 varsity letters — four Tennis, four Basketball and four Softball.
Berry played first base, was a four-time all-county first team selection in softball and was Lorain County Player of the Year her senior season. She played travel summer softball for the Lorain Lady Diamonds which led her to be recruited by Youngstown State University where she was a starter all four years for the Penguins. Amanda played shooting guard in basketball in a very talented Lorain Catholic program. In her junior year, she was all Lorain County second team and All Ohio honorable mention. In her senior year of basketball, she was Lorain County most valuable player and All-Ohio Division IV first team. Amanda played both singles and doubles on the tennis team. It was in softball where Amanda made her name in college at Youngstown State University.
Amanda was the first YSU softball player to be named the school’s Female Athlete of the Year when she received the honor as a junior in 2003. She excelled throughout her YSU career as a mainstay in the starting lineup for four consecutive seasons and left with her name all over the Penguins’ record book. Amanda played in 197 games and started 196 contests in her career. She posted a .333 batting average with 208 hits in 625 at bats. Berry had 47 doubles, 17 home runs, 13 triples, 113 RBIs, 76 runs scored and a .531 slugging percentage from 2001-2004. She finished her career as YSU’s all-time leader in hits, triples, doubles, RBIs, and slugging percentage. She now ranks fourth in career hits.
As a freshman in 2001, she started all 49 contests for YSU and was a second team All Mid-Continent selection. Berry had a team-best .284 batting average with 44 hits in 155 at bats. She had 11 doubles, a pair of triples and a homer during the campaign. She scored 17 runs and had 12 RBIs as well.
During her sophomore year in 2002, she had a break-out season playing and starting in all 43 contests. Berry batted .336 with 45 hits in 134 at bats. She had 10 doubles, three triples and a pair of homers. She drove in 20 runs and scored 12 times.
As a junior, her performance earned her a host of accolades. Berry was named the Horizon League’s Player of the Year, was a first-team all-conference honoree, garnered second-team NFCA/Louisville Slugger Great Lakes Region recognition, was selected to play in the College All-Star Game at the National Pro Fastpitch Festival and received the Vindicator/YSU Female Athlete-of-the-Year Award. She was the first junior female and softball player to be named YSU Athlete of the Year. The Penguins finished the campaign with a school-record 36-17-1 record. In 54 games played, Berry posted a .318 batting average with a school-record-tying 55 hits in 173 at bats. She had 14 doubles, belted seven home runs and had four triples for the year. She established a new school mark with 39 RBI, had 98 total bases and scored 31 runs.
The Penguins’ cleanup hitter set a school record on March 22 with six RBIs against Marist and tied the school mark with two homers. Additionally, she tied the school record for hits in a game with four vs. Robert Morris and had five RBIs with two triples in a contest against UIC.
As a senior, she had the best offensive season of her career. Berry played in all 51 games for the 29-22 Penguins. Berry had a career-high .393 batting average with 64 hits in 163 at bats. She had 12 doubles, seven homers and four triples while driving in 41 runs and scoring 16 times. Berry finished with an impressive 105 total bases for the year.
