Senior seeks elusive crown

Tiffany Patteson is the lone remaining representative of an impressive freshman class.
By PETE MOLLICA
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN - When Tiffany Patteson came to Youngstown State as a freshman in 2003 she was part of a class that attained immediate success for Penguin softball coach Christy Cameron.
Patteson was one of six freshmen, five of whom started for a team that posted a school-record 36 wins and earned two victories in the Horizon League tournament, the first and only time that has been accomplished.
There were high expectations and then the Penguins were looking forward to 2006 when they would play host to the league tournament.
Three years later Patteson finds herself as the only one of those six freshmen still on the roster. She often wonders what it would have been like had everybody stayed or remained healthy.
"I think about that a lot, about what could have been," Patteson said. "We had a lot of good players on that team and most of them left for reasons that were uncontrolled by any of us.
"I look at our team now and we have a very good team, but you still have to wonder just what it could have been if everybody was still here and healthy," she added.
Holds many records
Patteson, a native of Guelph, Ontario, has had a remarkable career at Youngstown State.
She holds school records for career hits (220), runs scored (121), walks (82), doubles (54) and triples (18). She is also second in school history in career at-bats (627), second in batting average (.345), third in RBIs (89) and fourth in home runs (10).
She was first-team All-Horizon League as a freshman and sophomore and second-team all-league selection as junior.
Although she's disappointed that her freshman teammates are no longer around, she still feels that the Penguins have been more than prepared for what has taken place since their departure.
"When we were freshmen nobody really expected us to be that good and even though our talent level has remained the same, it really has been that the other teams in the league have taken us more seriously and are better prepared when they face us now," Patteson said.
International experience
Patteson has competed at the international level as part of the Canadian National Team, playing in the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and was also selected to play for the Canadian National Development Team at the 2004 Canada Cup.
"Representing your country at the international level is probably the greatest thrill a person could ever have," Patteson said. "Those experiences will live with you for a lifetime.
"Playing as a freshman here at YSU and reaching the semifinal level of the Horizon tournament was a great thrill also. It was like, 'Wow, I'm going to be doing this every year from now on,' " she said.
Patteson batted .325 with 54 hits and 34 runs scored and 21 RBIs as a freshman. She had her best season as a sophomore when she batted .352 with 56 hits and had a career-high 37 runs scored, 33 RBIs and 19 doubles, the latter two ranking as the school's best single season marks.
As a junior she batted .343 with a career-best 60 hits and this year she leads the team with a .345 average.
Patteson has started in 197 games at shortstop for the Penguins.
Considers team a darkhorse
She likes the team's chances going into the Horizon League tournament, which gets underway Thursday at McCune Park.
"I really love it this year because nobody really gives us a chance," she said. "We know that we've played and beaten everybody in this league and we feel we have just as good a chance as anybody to win the whole thing."
Last week Patteson was named the YSU/Vindicator Female Athlete of the Year, an award that she felt very honored to receive.
She carries a 2.92 grade point average while majoring in exercise science/physical therapy and hopes to one day become a physical therapist somewhere in the sports industry.
"I'd love to have another opportunity to play for my country, but it won't be this year because of my academic commitments this summer," she said, "but eventually I'd love to be a physical therapist somewhere in sports or even work for an organization like the NCAA, but anything that would involve sports."
mollica@vindy.com