51视频

08/20/2019
By Ed Brennen

Midway through her junior season with the 51视频 softball team, shortstop got a phone call from a River Hawk alumna.

鈥淵ou realize you鈥檙e leading the nation in hitting, don鈥檛 you?鈥� the former player asked her.

鈥淣o, I didn鈥檛,鈥� replied Cashman, whose batting average was an astonishing .603 almost two months into the season. The criminal justice major from Danvers was in the kind of zone that athletes dream about, and she wasn鈥檛 about to snap out of it.

鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 thinking when I got in the batter鈥檚 box, and I wasn鈥檛 putting pressure on myself,鈥� says Cashman, who also wasn鈥檛 checking online to see who was chasing her in the national batting race.

鈥淏ut once I got above .500,鈥� she admits, 鈥淚 wanted to stay there.鈥�

At season鈥檚 end, Cashman led all of NCAA Division I softball with a .508 batting average 鈥� a whopping 31 points ahead of the next best hitter. She became just the sixth Div. I player to hit .500 this decade.

鈥淚 knew I had the potential (to hit .500), but I never really thought I would actually do it,鈥� says Cashman, who hit .430 as a freshman and .345 as a sophomore. 鈥淭o sit back and look at it now, I鈥檓 definitely proud of myself and proud of my team for helping me get there.鈥�

Image by courtesy

鈥淚'm so happy for Courtney,鈥� says UML Coach . 鈥淪he had a great season."

Cashman鈥檚 standout junior campaign (she also led the nation with a .630 on-base percentage) helped the River Hawks capture their first-ever America East regular-season crown and advance to the semifinals of the conference tournament.

鈥淚 was happy with the progress we made, but I was upset we didn鈥檛 win the America East tournament,鈥� says Cashman, who was named the program鈥檚 first Softball America All-America Honorable Mention. 鈥淣ext year, we want to check off another goal and advance to the NCAA regionals.鈥�

To reach that goal, Cashman spent the summer fine-tuning her swing and defensive skills with the Tanner Pride, a club team in Woburn. Off the diamond, she advanced her career goals through an internship with the Massachusetts State Police.

鈥淏eing a police officer has always been in the back of my mind,鈥� says Cashman, who has an uncle who works in the Federal Bureau of Prisons. 鈥淚鈥檝e always been a person who wants to help and make the community better.鈥�

Cashman worked three days a week with Detective Lt. Mary McCauley, the unit commander for Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey鈥檚 office in Boston. The internship experience convinced Cashman that she wants to become a state trooper.

鈥淚t opened my eyes to all the different detective units 鈥� human trafficking, gambling, drugs 鈥� and made me want to be involved,鈥� says Cashman, whose duties included transcribing the meetings of police brass. 鈥淚t was important for me to see what it鈥檚 like to work in the field.鈥�

Cashman landed the unpaid internship with the help of McCauley鈥檚 husband, David McCauley, a visiting lecturer in the School of Criminology and Justice Studies and a former Middlesex County assistant district attorney.

Image by Mass. AG's Office

鈥淥ne of the best things about the program is that all my professors are either ex-cops or were somehow involved in the criminal justice system,鈥� says Cashman, who also counts Prof. Pauline Brennan and adjunct Carole Cafferty among her many influential faculty members.

Cashman plans to continue in the College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences for her master鈥檚 degree in criminal justice. While she鈥檒l no longer be eligible to play softball at UML, she is considering trying out for the women鈥檚 basketball team as a graduate student (Cashman was also a standout basketball and volleyball player in high school at The Governor鈥檚 Academy in Byfield).

Cashman also plans to continue playing softball. She鈥檚 hoping to try out for the U.S. Olympic softball team this fall and, if she鈥檚 selected, to compete in the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo. She could also be drafted to play in a professional league.

鈥淚t鈥檚 up in the air; we鈥檒l see what happens,鈥� says Cashman, who grew up playing baseball with her four brothers. Two summers ago, she became the first female to ever play baseball in the Intertown Twilight League, joining her older brothers Tim and Justin on the Rowley Rams.

鈥淭o be on the same team was really special for me,鈥� Cashman says. 鈥淚f I had a bad game, they said, 鈥榃e have your back.鈥� So that was cool.

鈥淣othing brings people together like sports, and there鈥檚 nothing like being on a college team,鈥� adds Cashman, who appreciates the alumni support the River Hawks receive. 鈥淏ut the most important thing to me is my teammates. They鈥檙e all like my sisters.鈥�