WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – After helping the Boilermaker softball team to its first-ever NCAA Tournament berth in May, a trio of Purdue players continued their softball escapades into the summer and found even more success on the diamond.

Pitcher Suzie Rzegocki, who posted a 15-9 record with 125 strikeouts in 167 innings for the Boilermakers during the spring, guided her Lemont Rockers squad to the ASA Girls’ 18U Class A Fast Pitch National Championship.

The Rockers went 8-0 en route to the 2008 USA/ASA title, including a 5-1 victory against the Minnesota Sting Elite in the championship game on Aug. 3. The experience was invaluable to the sophomore-to-be, but it came with some challenges.

“My experience at nationals was indescribable,” Rzegocki said. “Our team had lost one of the greatest coaches that our organization had ever had that week, and we decided that we needed to win the tournament for him. After we decided to play for DiDi (Jim “DiDi” DiGregorio [Feb. 27, 1949-July 30, 2008]), we went undefeated and won the tournament. That was one of the best feelings in the world. Knowing that we pulled it off and won the tournament for him was awesome, but at the same time sad because we all wished he could have been there to share that moment with us.”

Despite the hardship, Rzegocki said the experience has molded her into the kind of player that can help her Boilermaker squad excel, as well.

“This experience will help me at Purdue because there were a lot of young girls on the team, so the other college girls and I needed to step up in this time of need and be leaders,” Rzegocki said. “We needed to show them that we were going to fight for the win no matter what. And that is exactly what we did.”

Third baseman Ashley Hall (2005-08) and shortstop Candace Curtis garnered national honors as their St. Louis Saints squad finished tied for fifth in the ASA Women’s Major Fast Pitch National Championships in Amherst, N.Y., from Aug. 7-10.

Hall, who batted .298 with 36 runs scored, eight triples and eight stolen bases in her final season as a Boilermaker, was named to the Women’s Major Fast Pitch National Championship first team as a utility player. Curtis, who posted a .333 average, including a team-best 44 RBI and 11 home runs in her junior campaign, earned second team honors as an infielder in the Women’s Major Fast Pitch division.

Curtis said her time with the Saints kept her in action, which will only continue to help her improve her skills.

“ASA Nationals was a great experience,” Curtis said. “I got to play a lot of good teams and face good competition in the offseason. Whenever you can face live pitching and strong competition, it keeps you on your game. Not everyone gets that kind of game-like experience in the offseason, so it definitely will be beneficial for me this year.”

The 2008 Boilermakers posted a 35-23 record, including a fifth-place Big Ten finish, en route to its inaugural NCAA Tournament berth and victory.