Elaine Schwager enters her fifth season at the helm of the Merrimack College softball program.
With a 17-win improvement from 2008 to 2009, Schwager earned the title Northeast-10 Conference Coach of the Year following the Warriors' fourth place finish and trip to the 2009 NE-10 Semifinals. In the coaches' preseason poll, Merrimack had been picked 12th.
Schwager's final win of 2009 in the Northeast-10 Conference first round against Southern New Hampshire (1-0) also marked her 200th career win in the college ranks. A former head softball and volleyball coach at Suffolk University, Schwager has amassed a career softball record of 200-203 in ten seasons of coaching.
Schwager guided the Warriors to a 23-20 record in 2007,
leading her team to the finals of the Northeast-10
Championship.
Before coming to Merrimack, Schwager was the head softball coach
at Suffolk University
for five years. During her tenure, she led the team to two ECAC
New England post-season tournaments. She was 100-82 over five
seasons and was named the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Coach
of the Year in 2003 and 2005. Also the head volleyball coach for
two years, Schwager helped lead the Rams to GNAC Tournament
appearances in both seasons.
Prior to her time at Suffolk, Schwager was the head softball coach
at Regis College for two years. She also spent two years as the
head coach of the Croatian National Softball Team.
Schwager also had stints as an assistant coach at Boston
University and the University of Massachusetts at Lowell. In
addition, she’s had extensive administrative experience,
including time spent as Associate Director of Athletics at Suffolk,
Senior Women’s Administrator at Suffolk, and Director of
Athletics at Mt. St. Joseph Academy.
Schwager recently opened her own fitness center - Fitness For You,
Inc. in North Andover, Mass.
Ashley Morgan enters her third season as an assistant coach with
the Warriors.
A 2003 graduate from Quinnipiac, Morgan, who was the lead-off
hitter and center fielder, led her team to their first ever NEC
Championship appearance as a team captain. That season, Quinnipiac
set a school record for most wins in a single season.
Morgan currently is the assistant General Manager at Fitness for
You in North Andover. A native of Everett, MA, she currently
resides in North Andover.
A 2008 graduate and two-time softball captain at Merrimack, Kristin Hodder enters her second season on the Merrimack Softball coaching staff.
As a Warrior, Hodder appeared in 133 career contests from 2004 to 2005 and 2007 to 2008 primarily at second base. With 113 career starts, she drove in a total of 24 runs and scored 53 of her own. She also knocked a career-high 43 hits in 2007 as part of 87 career base hits. Hodder was also a member of the 2007 team that advanced to the Northeast-10 Conference finals against UMass-Lowell in which she went 2-for-4 and stole two bases.
Hodder graduated with a degree in Business Marketing as a member of the Dean's List at Merrimack College.
Hodder currently works at Fitness For You, Inc. and is
part-owner of Just Smile alongside head coach
Schwager.
Megan Biddle was a four-year starting pitcher at the University of Connecticut, and was a member of the 2001 Big East Championship and NCAA Regional qualifier that posted a 36-23 record. She earned All-Conference honors as a sophomore in 1999 and again as senior.
During her UConn career, Biddle won 35 games for the Huskies and
pitched 392 innings with 304 strikeouts. She also finished with a
.303 career average and was tied for fifth all time in home runs
with 12. Her career strikeouts total also rank in the top ten for
the Huskies.
Biddle was a member of the Connecticut Classics, who were part of
the Brakettes organization from 2001-03. Biddle won two games in
the 23 & Under ASA National Championship event, to earn
First-Team All-America laurels.
Biddle was a member of the Stratford Brakettes in 2004, and went on
to play for the New York/New Jersey Juggernaut developmental team
in Women's Professional League.
