#51 Cassidy Whidden 2013-14 Softball Roster

HONORS AND AWARDS:
2015 NFCA Mid-Atlantic All-Region Second Team
2014 NFCA Mid-Atlantic All-Region First Team
2014 All-Atlantic Coast Conference Third Team
2013 All-BIG EAST Conference Third Team

AS A SENIOR (2015): NFCA Mid-Atlantic All-Region Second Team … ACC Academic Honor Roll … finished Notre Dame career tied for fourth place with NFCA All-American Heather Johnson (’11) on the program’s all-time home run list with 35 — hit the most career home runs among exclusive catchers in Irish history … finished fifth in all-time slugging percentage (.597) at Notre Dame, and is one of 17 Irish players to ever have a career on-base percentage of .400 or higher (.406) … one of seven Notre Dame sluggers to hit 10 or more home runs in consecutive seasons … posted the eighth-best fielding percentage (.989) in program history during final two seasons as the primary Notre Dame catcher … batted .271 with a career-high 10 doubles, 13 home runs, 46 RBI, 28 walks, 15 hit by pitch and 38 runs scored in 57 starts (56 at catcher) … led all Notre Dame players in hits, walks and hit by pitch … batted .311 with runners in scoring position, and added 18 two-out RBI … added four home runs and 18 RBI in 23 ACC games played … smashed a home run during a Notre Dame season opener for the third straight season during a win over Utah (Feb. 6) … perfect 3-for-3 with two doubles and a run scored in an upset victory at No. 6 UCLA (Feb. 6) … 2-for-3 with a double, home run, two RBI and two runs scored in first game at Cal State Fullerton (Feb. 7) … added a pair of RBI the following day against the Titans (Feb. 8) … roped two hits and added an RBI and a run against No. 10 Tennessee (Feb. 19) … scored twice in Notre Dame wins over Georgetown (Feb. 27) and Omaha (March 1) at the Diamond 9 Citrus Classic … 2-for-3 with a home run and two runs in win at North Carolina Central (March 11) … 2-for-2 with a home run and three RBI in the second game of a doubleheader at No. 9 Florida State (March 14) … added an RBI and a pair of runs scored during a Sunday 12-0 shutout of the Seminoles (March 15) … connected on a double and drove in two runs in an Irish win in the ACC home opener against Georgia Tech (March 21) … opened 10-game hit streak with a home run and two RBI in a victory over IPFW (March 25) … drilled a home run and logged three RBI in a series finale sweep of No. 24 Virginia Tech (March 29) … 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBI against Eastern Michigan (April 1) … went a perfect 3-for-3 with a home run and four RBI in the second game of a doubleheader sweep at Pittsburgh (April 3) … three RBI, along with a home run, during a midweek victory over Western Michigan (April 7) … capped hit string with a double and an RBI against Butler (April 8) … two-run home run in the second game of the Strikeout Cancer doubleheader against Syracuse (April 18) … scored two runs during a 16-1 rout in five innings at Michigan State (April 28) in the regular season finale … clubbed a second inning grand slam to power the Notre Dame offense to a win over Northwestern (May 16) during the second Irish game of the NCAA South Bend Regional … added a three-run home run during the second regional game of the day against Ball State (May 16) … homered in final career at-bat to give Notre Dame the lead during the regional final of the NCAA South Bend Regional against Kentucky (May 17) at Melissa Cook Stadium.

AS A JUNIOR (2014): NFCA Mid-Atlantic All-Region First Team … All-ACC Third Team … All-ACC Softball Academic Team … ACC Academic Honor Roll … made triumphant return to the Notre Dame lineup after suffering a severe knee injury at the end of the 2013 season, setting career-highs with a .336 batting average, 49 hits, eight doubles, 11 home runs, 35 RBI, and 32 runs scored … led all Notre Dame players for the second straight season in hit by pitch (5) … added seven stolen bases in 10 attempts … batted .350 (14-for-40) with 17 RBI with two outs, and posted a .340 average (18-for-53) overall with runners in scoring position … 14 multiple-hit games ranked fourth on the Notre Dame roster … batted .377 with eight home runs, 16 RBI and a .820 slugging percentage in 20 ACC starts – home run total was the second-most in the conference during league play, while slugging percentage figure was the third-highest among all ACC hitters … committed only two errors (.994) in a team-high 322 chances in the field … started first game of the season after nine months of rehabilitation following surgery for a torn right ACL, and drilled a three-run home run on the second pitch of first at-bat to finish with a team-high three RBI against Tennessee Tech (Feb. 8) … chipped in two RBI later in the Auburn Plainsman Invitational against Morehead State (Feb. 9) … went a combined 4-for-8 (.500) with a double, an RBI and two runs scored over a pair of wins versus No. 23 Louisville (Feb. 15-16) … roped an RBI double, and drove in the winning run on an infield fielder’s choice to lead the Irish to a 12-11 win over UC Davis (Feb. 21) … went 2-for-5 with a solo home run, scoring the tying runs in both the bottom of the seventh and ninth innings of Notre Dame’s win in 13 innings against FIU (March 13), the longest Irish game in terms of innings played since 1995 … 2-for-3 with a solo home run and two runs scored in an ACC series finale at Virginia Tech (March 16) … contributed three hits, including a two-run home run, and added four RBI in non-conference win over Ball State (April 1) … stole a pair of bases and scored one run after reaching base three times against Michigan State (April 2) … clubbed two hits, including a solo home run, in the first game of an ACC doubleheader at North Carolina (April 9) … went 3-for-4 with two more homers, three RBI and three runs in the nightcap to help Notre Dame complete the sweep of the Tar Heels (April 9) … tied season-high of three runs scored in a non-conference home victory in five innings over Toledo (April 16) … smashed a home run and logged two RBI in the first game of an ACC series at Virginia (April 18) … added two home runs and four RBI to complete the series sweep of the Cavaliers (April 19) the following day … batted a combined 5-for-8 (.625) with a double, two RBI and two runs scored in a three-game sweep of Maryland (April 27-28) – had walk-off RBI single in series finale on ESPNU’s ACC Monday against the Terrapins (April 28) … recorded RBI base hits in each game of a doubleheader sweep of Boston College (May 3) in the final series of the season at Melissa Cook Stadium … scored winning run in the bottom of the fourth inning to complete a five-run comeback, as part of a seven-run Notre Dame inning, in the semifinals of the ACC Championship against Virginia Tech (May 9) at the Maryland Softball Stadium … 3-for-4 effort with a double against Long Beach State (May 17) during the NCAA Los Angeles Regional.

AS A SOPHOMORE (2013): Enjoyed a breakout season for the Irish, capped off by being named to the All-BIG EAST Third Team … BIG EAST Academic All-Star … .287 batting average, five doubles, one triple, nine home runs, 31 RBI, 11 stolen bases and 26 runs scored in 49 games (34 starts) … .437 on-base percentage was second on the Irish roster, and .649 slugging percentage ranked third on the team – slugging percentage total was the sixth-highest in the conference, and on-base percentage ranked 10th among all BIG EAST players … team-high 26 two-out RBI … was hit by pitch a team-high 12 times, the second-most in the BIG EAST … second on the Irish with a .415 batting average (17-for-41) with two outs … only Notre Dame player to hit both a grand slam and a walk-off home run (separate plays) during the season … made first start of the year at catcher at Charlotte (Feb. 9), smashing the first Notre Dame home run of the season while adding three RBI and a stolen base … hit second long ball and stole a pair of bases after entering as a reserve at East Carolina (Feb. 24) … fought off 11 pitches before blasting a game-winning three-run pinch-hit home run against Maryland (March 3) at the Diamond 9 Citrus Classic … chipped in a pinch-hit RBI double in the second game of the Highlander Classic against Iona (March 16) … clocked a solo home run in only at-bat in the nightcap of a doubleheader at Seton Hall (March 23) … drilled a solo home run and scored three runs in a win over Villanova (April 7) … permanently broke into the Irish starting lineup during the series against Rutgers (April 13), clocking a two-out grand slam and scoring two runs against the Scarlet Knights … capped a seven-run Notre Dame rally in the bottom of the seventh inning in the series finale against Rutgers (April 14), crushing a walk-off three-run home run over the wall in left center … belted a two-run homer and scored a pair of runs in game two of a BIG EAST doubleheader at Pittsburgh (April 20) … legged out first career triple, driving in a run on the play during the second game of the day at DePaul (April 27) … 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored in the series finale against the Blue Demons (April 28) … connected on a key two-out, two-run double to help propel Notre Dame to a win and the BIG EAST regular-season championship against No. 9 Louisville (May 5) … recorded three RBI and stole a pair of bases in a BIG EAST Championship semifinal victory over DePaul (May 10) … left NCAA Lexington Regional matchup with Virginia Tech (May 17) in the second inning after suffering a severe knee injury.

AS A FRESHMAN (2012): Appeared in 26 games, starting on five occasions as the designated player … knocked an 0-1 pitch over the left field wall for a grand slam in the top of the fifth inning at Cal State Fullerton (March 14) … pinch-hit RBI single keyed three-run Notre Dame fourth inning in a win over Toledo (March 28) … three-run homer in the top of the second inning powered the Irish to a 4-1 win in game one of a doubleheader at Rutgers (April 11) … went 1-for-2 with a run scored against Cleveland State (April 19).

PREP AND PERSONAL: Earned three letters at St. Stephen’s (Fla.) as a two-time team captain and MVP … recognized on ESPN’s Top Players to Watch list … named all-state as a freshman and twice named all-city and all-conference … hit .588 as a junior while recording at least one hit in each game throughout the season … scored 32 runs and drove in 12 more with 10 doubles, five triples and two home runs … went errorless throughout the season while playing shortstop … invited to the adidas Futures Top 100 camp and the OnDeck Softball Elite Futures camp … played on the travel circuit for New Jersey Intensity under head coach Kevin O’Donnell (father of former Irish pitcher Brittany O’Donnell) … finished seventh at 2009 Gold Nationals and placed among the top-10 at the 2010 Premier Nationals tournament … also lettered four times in soccer while leading squad to three conference and regional crowns … two-time team captain and three-time MVP with three all-conference and all-city accolades on the pitch … also named all-state in soccer as a sophomore … earned additional letters in golf (freshman), swimming (junior) and cross country (senior) … held county record in the 200m, a mark which stood for over five years … member of student government, National Honor Society and Spanish Honor Society … named homecoming queen … junior and senior class president … peer tutor and school ambassador … daughter of Elizabeth and Bruce Whidden … has an older sister, Ashton, and brother, Chandler … Chandler served as a student manager for the softball team at Alabama … Ashton pitched for St. Leo (Fla.) … graduated with a dual degree in Film, Television, and Theatre and history.