BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- Bridgewater State University Associate Vice President for Athletics & Student Wellness, Dr. Marybeth Lamb, announced today that BSU Hall of Famer Angela Vecchione has been named the interim head coach for the Bears' softball program.

Vecchione takes the role of interim head coach after serving the past two seasons as an assistant coach on the staff. She also served as an assistant coach in 2009 and 2010.

"Coach Vecchione has demonstrated an outstanding skill set to lead the team to higher levels of play as well as leadership on and off the field," said Lamb. "I am confident that Coach Vecc and her staff will bring a new energy to the program while guiding them to great success."

Vecchione is one of the most decorated athletes in the history of the Bridgewater State softball team. She earned All-Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) accolades for four straight seasons from 1998 to 2001, including three first team honors, and was a two-time winner of the MASCAC Player of the Year award (1999, 2001). Vecchione was named a Third Team All-American in 1999, and was selected to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-New England First Team in each of her four seasons.

Bridgewater State hosted four straight New England Regional Tournaments during Vecchione's career. She led the Bears to back-to-back regional titles in 1998 and 1999 as the team advanced to the eight-team World Series. For her performance, Angela was named to the New England Regional All-Tournament Team in both ’98 and ’99.

Vecchione finished her career at Bridgewater State with a stellar .428 batting average, holding school records for hits (253), runs (193), triples (41), at bats (591) and games played (182). She also either set or tied five school marks during her sophomore season in 1999, racking up 71 hits, 57 runs, 36 extra-base hits, 12 triples and 133 total bases.

All told, the Bears posted an impressive 143-42-2 (.770) record during Vecchione’s career, which saw her start at shortstop during the first three campaigns before transitioning to catcher for her senior year. The Bears also went 57-2 against MASCAC teams from 1998 to 2001 and captured four straight MASCAC regular season titles as well as the inaugural MASCAC Tournament championship in 2001.

Vecchione graduated in 2009 with a Bachelor of Science degree in physical education and was inducted into the BSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2015. She served as an assistant coach for Wheaton College in 2005 and 2006, and then returned to the Bears’ program in 2009 as an assistant. Vecchione has always had a passion for teaching our youth the fundamentals of softball, and has worked with local programs including Taunton High School, Middleboro Youth Softball and the Parkway Girls Softball Program. She also served as head coach for the Bay State Thunder, the Mass Pride and the Boston Bandits travel programs.

Vecchione is a program director for a non-profit after school program in Quincy and resides in Mansfield with her wife, Kelli-Beth, and their son, Cole, and daughter, Eloise.