And to think, Deb Partridge came to Bentley to play volleyball.
Fortunately, for the Falcon softball program, the 1994 Bentley graduate eventually preferred to do her hitting with an aluminum bat and quickly developed into one of Bentley's finest hitters of all-time.
"But she was more than just a hitter," said former Falcon softball coach John Hoffman, who worked with Deb during her junior and senior years. "She was quite a player. She was probably the best third baseman in the conference - she had all the tools, a cannon of an arm, an unbelievable glove and an unbelievable knowledge of the game of softball."
It all added up to a .430 career batting average and a spot at the top of almost every list of offensive categories. Deb finished her career No. l in program history in career batt.ing average, home runs (7), slugging percentage (.655), on base percentage (.494) and hits{136), and was tied for the all-time lead in runs scored (87).
"The numbers don't tell the true story of what a competitor and leader Deb Partridge was," said Hoffman. "If you know what type of person she was, she would have traded all of those individual achievements to see Bentley go to a Northeast-10 playoff game. She would have traded it in in a minute."
As it turns out, she couldn't and the Falcons finished below
.500 in all four of her seasons. It was tough, but Deb stayed focused and positive according to her coach.
"She was an easy person to coach," he said. "She would always pull the team together."
While Deb’s overall game was outstanding, it was her time in the batter's box that really separated her from the rest.
"I can't say enough about the way she used to work," Hoffman said. "She certainly was a strong girl. She has very quick hands and her bat speed was just tremendous. I'll tell you one thing, when Deb Partridge was up, you were aware at all times. You wanted to be able to get out of the way."
As a sophomore, Deb batted .482 and stole a career-high 15 bases. She belted 40 bits in 82 at-bats and made only five errors while occupying the hot corner.
A catcher throughout her days at Turners Falls High School, she was converted to third base in college. "I took a ball off the head as a freshman," recalled Deb with a laugh. "I learned a big lesson that day."
As a senior, she had perhaps per finest season, hitting .443, slugging .797 and finishing with an on base percentage of .55J. She smacked four home runs and drove in 24 runs that season, despite the cautious pitching of NE-10 hurlers that issued 17 free passes to the Falcon slugger.
"The league was loaded with very, good pitchers," said Hoffman. "But you know what? She'd lay down a squeeze bunt and be just as happy as if she'd hit a home run."
Hoffman recalled a moment late in her senior season as she was approaching Bentley's all-time hit record. A bloop single that would have broken the record was actually ruled an error. In the next game, Partridge hit a homer.
"After the game," said Hoffman with a laugh, "she said 'They can't say that wasn't a hit.' She wasn't going to be denied."
