By Jude Harder
UWRF Sports Information

After Ashley Bertrand's promising freshman year on the mound, big things appear to be on the horizon for her and the 2006 Falcon women's softball team.

As a freshman last season Bertrand stepped in to take charge of the pitching staff with an 8-9 record and a 2.16 ERA while working 107 innings.

"As a freshman last year, Ashley stepped into the lead role on the pitching mound," said Falcon Coach Faye Perkins. "The experience from last year will make her that much better of a pitcher as a sophomore."

Bertrand feels the same way; she is confident that she can post even better numbers and help put her team into the upper echelon of the WIAC.

She is very excited about her team's chances in 2006. "We have a lot of potential to have a really good season and we are all pretty pumped up about it." With a lot of talent and good team chemistry, Bertrand feels the team can excel in the WIAC and in the conference's post-season tournament.

Bertrand is a strikeout pitcher, who prides herself on being able to keep batters off-balance. She feels her best pitch is her curveball, which really fools opponents. "A lot of batters lay off it because they think it's too outside and they end up getting rung up on it," Bertrand said.

Perkins says that Bertrand has many strengths as a pitcher. "Ashley's primary strengths as a pitcher are her speed, her rise ball, and her knuckle change, and she is a very composed; she doesn't get rattled on the mound."

She first began playing softball when she was 11. Her second year playing she was given the opportunity to pitch because her team only had one pitcher. She wasn't very good at first, but with lots of practice, she became quite the flamethrower.

Bertrand is the daughter of Wendy and Mike Bertrand and has two brothers, Brent and Shawn, and a sister-in-law, Amy. Much of her devoted practice time is spent with her father.   "He's been there for me through thick and thin. He's my catcher during the off-season and is always there when I need him, and I wouldn't be where I am today without him." She cherishes every moment that she gets to spend with her family and friends.

She came to UW-River Falls from St. Paul, Minn., were she stared for Como Park High School. She was the team's captain in 2004, earned All-State honorable mention honors in 2004 and was named to the all-conference team in 2003 and 2004.

Apart from athletics, Bertrand is currently majoring in mathematics and has her minor in coaching. She was named to 2005 WIAC Scholastic Honor Roll and earned NFCA Scholar-Athlete honors. She finds juggling school and athletics difficult at times, but gets through it by being organized and prioritizing.

She plans on working in the accounting field and finance for a company like 3M or Medtronics. She would also like to pursue a coaching job to go along with her day job. "I want to be either a high school or college softball coach. Along with coaching a team, I want to spend some time working with young pitchers to help develop their mechanics and skills." For now though, she'll be focusing on her own very young, college softball career.

On the lighter side, Bertrand is a country music fanatic; she can listen to it anytime, anyplace and not get sick of it. She loves the movie Shrek and considers herself to be a, "big chick-flick kind of girl."

Her favorite athlete is Jenny Finch, a pitcher for the U.S. Olympic team. "She is really quick and has a lot of movement on her pitches, and is a really good hitter; basically everything I want to be."  

Bertrand opened up her 2006 season just the way she'd like by defeating Carleton 3-1 on opening day. She started and went five innings, giving up one unearned run, while walking none and striking out nine. It's a good start, but she knows a lot of hard work lies ahead in order to achieve her high individual and team expectations.