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SEVEN TO JOIN CALDWELL SOFTBALL PROGRAM IN 2007-08

July 11, 2007

Courtesy of Matt McLagan, Caldwell SID

CALDWELL, N.J. - Caldwell College softball coach Dean Johnson has announced his recruiting class for the 2007-08 academic year. The seven student-athletes who will join the Cougar softball team this fall include pitchers Brittany Pulido (Ojai, CA/Nordhoff), Annie Forte (Toms River, NJ/Toms River North), Sarah Olsen (Lake Hopatcong, NJ/Pope John) and Rachel Stever (Barnegat, NJ/Southern Regional), and infielders Patti Garofolo (Royersford, PA/Spring-Ford), Melissa Miller (Waxhaw, NC/Weddington) and Lisa Federico (Toms River, NJ/Toms River North).

"I am pleased to add such a talented group of student-athletes to our program," said Johnson, who guided the Cougars to a 34-17 record and a share of their fourth consecutive Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference regular-season title this past spring. "Brittany Pulido is a solid pitcher and she continues our connection with the talented players in the state of California. Annie Forte has been one of the top pitchers in New Jersey the past two years. And Patti Garofolo is an excellent athlete who comes from the New Jersey Outlaws program that has produced players such as former CACC Player of the Year Katie Jackson who have been successful players for us over the years."

Pulido is a three-time first team all-league pitcher at Nordhoff High School. She also was named her team's best offensive player as a junior and served as a team captain her senior year. This spring, Pulido was inducted into Nordhoff's Wall of Fame. A member of the Southern California Shilos Gold summer team out of Santa Monica, Calif., Pulido joins rising sophomore Kyrie Timbrook (Los Gatos, CA/Los Gatos) as Californians on the roster.

Forte comes to Caldwell after an impressive softball career at Toms River North High School, where she earned all-Group 4 honors twice and all-Ocean County accolades three times. As a junior, Forte led the Mariners to the Ocean County Championship while going 23-4 with an earned run average of 0.86 en route to being named Player of the Year by the Ocean County Observer. Last season, she turned in a record of 16-11 while striking out 199 batters. She also hit seven homers with 18 runs batted in at the plate as a senior. A first team all-Shore selection in 2006 and second team all-Shore choice in 2007, Forte compiled 571 strikeouts in her career at Toms River North. She plays for the Rockland Thunder Gold in the summer.

Garofolo was a three-year member of the varsity softball team at Spring-Ford High School, where she was an all-Area third-baseman. She helped Spring-Ford place second in the PAC-10 League as a junior in 2006. Garofolo also plays for the New Jersey Outlaws summer team that won the state championship and participated in the ASA National Tournament in 2006.

Miller, a left-handed first-baseman, attended Weddington High School in the Charlotte, N.C., area. She was selected to the all-Conference and all-Union County first teams in both 2006 and 2007. Olsen had a successful senior season at Pope John High School in Sparta, N.J., earning first team all-West Jersey and second team all-Non-Public honors after fanning 114 and walking just 12 this past spring. Federico, who was a teammate of Forte's at Toms River North, is a first-baseman who also will play basketball at Caldwell. Stever was a four-year pitcher at Southern Regional High School who is also an excellent student.

The Cougars must replace a graduating class that won 156 games in four seasons, the most victories in a four-year period in the program's history.