 Sophomore Hollister,CA #47 Outfield-Infield 2009: .273 I don't have a favorite Griffs player, I like them all, but if I did it would have to be Lizzy Gatto. Lizzy is the complete package: She can hit, she can hit for power, she can sacrifice, she's a very good runner who is hard to tag out, an outstanding outfielder who can play infield (she started at shortstop her 1st collegiate game), she's an intense competitor, and she takes losses hard. I didn't write it at the time, but in a game against Marist, Lizzy dropped a fly ball in the 6th inning with 2 outs that led to Marist scoring the winning runs. She ran a long way to get that ball, it popped out of her glove; that can happen to anyone. She got up to bat in the 7th, and worked the pitcher very well for a walk with a lot of foul balls, and made her way to 3rd base, determined to score. The 3rd out was a ground ball, Lizzy raced home but it was too late---game over. But she had such a look of pain on her face. I was very impressed, because it really wasn't all her fault, the whole team didn't play well. But she's the kind of player who takes the responsibility, as she did in the bottom of the 7th in the regular season comeback against Niagara, a crucial victory. Lizzy was sent home on a ground ball with the Griffs down by 2; but she was out by a mile. This did not deter her though as she made a ferocious slide straight into the catcher, who dropped the ball in the collision, and the Griffs went on to win. And of course, she hit her 1st career homer in the MAAC Championship game.
Lizzy flirted with a .300 average for a large part of her Freshman season, and hit 7 doubles and 3 triples. She was 3rd on the team in runs scored, and was 7 for 7 stealing bases. She was awarded MAAC Freshman Of The Week twice. Look for her to be even better in 2010.
Lizzy was a 4 year letter winner at San Benito High School and an all league selection 3 times. She also played for the Salinas Wildcats. Her High School coach Scott Smith said of her, "She's just the hardest worker, probably the hardest working player I've ever had. She's a great thrower, can hit for power, speed - she's very versatile. She's made to play college softball, for sure.". Lizzy chose Canisius over such schools as Purdue, BYU and Santa Clara saying, "It was everything I was looking for in a college. And they have a great softball team, and that was the push for me to go there. To get a scholarship there was the icing on the cake.".    |