2013 Fredonia State graduate Katie Bartkowiak steps back into the batter's box while head coach Lorrie Corsi looks on from the third-base coaching box.
When she wasn't getting a hit, there's a good chance Katie Bartkowiak was getting hit by a pitch, then stealing a base, and scoring.
Her constant threat as a weapon on offense has landed Bartkowiak -- Fredonia State Class of 2013 with a degree in Sport Management and a minor in Coaching -- on the SUNYAC Softball All-Decade Team. She is the Blue Devils' lone representative among the 27 players honored by conference sports information directors.
"Katie Bartkowiak," said former coach Lorrie Corsi, "was probably the most talented player I ever coached at Fredonia. She hit with power and had tremendous speed. You could generally count on a run scoring when she got on base. Katie served as a team captain and thought soft-spoken, she led by example. When she decided to attend Fredonia, I could not have been happier."
A graduate of Fredonia High School, Bartkowiak was 2010 SUNYAC Rookie of the Year and a three-time All-SUNYAC selection. She was also a two-time National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Northeast Region -- 2011 First Team and 2012 Second Team.
Among conference statistical leaders every season, her .451 batting average as a freshman was No. 2 in the conference as well as the highest single-season average in program history. She was also No. 1 in the conference with a .513 on-base percentage. As a sophomore, she batted .437 -- No. 4 in the conference -- and was No. 2 in stolen bases per game (and No. 26 nationally), No. 3 in slugging percentage, No. 3 in triples, and No. 6 in on-base percentage. She then ranked No. 6 in SUNYAC batting with a .400 mark as a junior.
Bartkowiak holds school records for most hits (175), most stolen bases (56), highest batting average (.398), highest on-base percentage (.463), and most times hit by pitch (39; the next-highest player has 11). She led the SUNYAC twice (2010, 2013) and was second twice in getting hit by pitches and was ranked nationally in the category three times, including No. 4 as a senior. She's also ranked No. 2 in Fredonia State history in the following categories: runs scored (116), home runs (9), total bases (238), and slugging percentage (.541).
Now living in Nashville, Tenn., Bartkowiak owns her own business -- K&K Weddings -- and recently celebrated the first birthday of her son, Roman James. "I miss playing ball, but absolutely love being a mom!," she wrote when contacted this week about the SUNYAC honor.
