Locals sign college letters

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Enlarge

Enlarge

Enlarge

Three area players who have had outstanding high school careers on the baseball or softball field signed, or are about to sign, letters of intent to play in college.

Alvirne senior Taylor Carbone, who pitched the Broncos to the Division I softball title last spring, is headed to the University of Massachusetts. Bishop Guertin catcher Jacklyn Dubois, of Mont Vernon, signed with the University of Connecticut, while Souhegan senior pitcher Terry Dugdale accepted a scholarship offer from the University of Albany to play baseball.

Dubois, a teammate of Carbone’s for years on summer teams, fell in love with UConn on her visit last November. She’s made a remarkable recovery from an ACL tear suffered in 2008 after her freshman season at BG and is one of the state’s top catchers.

“There were moments when I wondered if I’d ever be able to catch again,” Dubois said. “It took a lot of hard work, but I was 100 percent again a year later.”

Last spring, Dubois help lead the Cardinals into the Division I semifinals and also finished second in both indoor and outdoor track in the shot put.

For Dugdale, a four-year varsity player, the decision came down to Albany, UMass-Lowell and Franklin Pierce. He liked the Albany campus and the chance to play Division I baseball in the America East Conference.

He said one of the biggest influences on his baseball career was middle school coach Tim Lambrou, who cut him in the seventh grade.

“It inspired me to work harder,” Dugdale said. “I started seeing a pitching coach, I was determined to make the team the next year.”

Dugdale did and made the varsity as a freshman at Souhegan.

He lost just one start as a junior, to Bedford’s Joe Maher, who signed with the Yankees last summer. Last spring Dugdale had a 2.42 ERA and averaged two strikeouts an inning.