Sophomore Outfielder Providing Offensive Firepower For Lady Sharks Softball Team
Softball has a significant place in Amanda Mason’s life.
As a kid, she spent countless hours playing catch with her father, Gregory, and watching his slowpitch softball games at public parks in Coral Springs.
Since then, Mason has developed a strong bond for the sport.
In the past 14 years, she has played softball at recreational leagues, travel ball teams, high school, and now, the 20-year-old sophomore outfielder is providing offensive firepower to the Miami Dade College softball team.
Through 14 games with the Lady Sharks (6-11) this season, Mason is boasting a .400 batting average with seven runs scored and 16 hits.
“When she gets on base, we score,” said Lady Shark’s Head Softball Coach Gina De Agüero. “She’s a good base runner with good speed. We need her to stay positive and trust the process to add to our team’s success.”
Mason was born on Nov. 5, 2000. In 2007, she started playing recreational softball for the City of Coral Springs at Betti Stradling Park. Mason was a pitcher on the squad for four years before switching to the Coral Spring Panthers, a travel ball team in that city.
She also played on different travel ball teams for seven years but stayed with the Panthers for four of those years. Mason later played for the Sunrise Thunder in 2016, the Gold Coast Hurricanes in 2017 and the Miami Lady Canes in 2018.
In addition to travel ball, Mason also played two seasons for the girl’s varsity team at J.P. Taravella High School in Coral Springs. During her junior season, she posted a .459 batting average with 17 runs, 11 RBI and 14 stolen bases in 14 games.
While playing in a tournament in Clearwater with the Gold Coast Hurricanes, Mason met De Agüero, who later offered her a spot at MDC. Mason eventually committed to the team in September of 2018.
In her freshman season with the Lady Sharks, Mason boasted a .354 batting average and added 14 runs and five stolen bases before the season was cut short last March due to COVID-19 concerns.
This year, she has maintained the impressive offensive input by providing consistent hitting and solid base-running. However, her teammates and coaches expect her to step up even more during the conference matchups, which are scheduled to start on March 6.
“I met an amazing coach, who is Coach Gina, at a softball tournament one weekend and I never looked back,” Mason said. “I knew that MDC was supposed to be my home.”
The Lady Sharks’ next game will be a double-header at Florida Southwestern State College on Feb. 24 at 4 p.m and 6 p.m.
