After leading Taunton softball to state title, Consalvi leaving to coach at college level
TAUNTON — Two years ago when she was hired as the head softball coach at Taunton High School, Carrie Consalvi knew she was in for a test taking control of the then-five-time state champions.
"I'm so honored to be here and be a part of this team," Consalvi told the Taunton Daily Gazette. "(To coach) this school and to play in this league. It is going to be a challenge all the time.”
After winning back-to-back Division I state championships, it’s safe to say it was a test she passed with flying colors.
Consalvi was announced as the new head softball coach at her alma mater Bridgewater State University Friday, putting a close to her two-year stint leading the Tigers, a stretch which saw the program win two state championships and a Hockomock League title while compiling a combined record of 41-4.
“We are so excited to have Carrie come back home to BSU to lead our Bears,” Bridgewater State University Associate Vice President for Athletics and Wellness Marybeth Lamb said in a press release. "Carrie not only has the expertise, but she is a member of the family and understands what being a ‘Bear’ means to our students, our faculty, staff and alumni. This will be an exciting time for Bears softball."
A 2001 BSU graduate and a 2019 inductee into the school’s Athletics Hall of Fame, Consalvi, then known as Carrie Kuprycz, was a standout for the Bears during her three seasons. A catcher and designated player, Consalvi batted .387 with 38 doubles, nine triples, 21 home runs, 107 runs, 122 RBIs and 23 stolen bases as she helped lead the team to three MASCAC championships, a New England Regional championship and trips to both the 1998 and 1999 NCAA Division III World Series, being named a NFCA Division III Second Team All-American in both campaigns. She later served as an assistant coach for BSU following graduation.
”It’s such a tremendous honor,” Consalvi said. “I attribute everything I was as a player and as a coach, even as a human being, to my former head coach Dee Dee Enabenter, who was just a phenomenal person and coach. Everything that I’ve learned has come from that woman, and that institution and program really made me me.”
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It’s being able to help shape the next generation of Bridgewater State softball players on and off the field like her coaches and the program did for her that really makes her excited for the new role.
”The mom I am, the nurse practitioner I am, the person I am (is because of BSU softball),” Consalvi said. “You’re molding young people even at the next level from high school, so it’s a tremendous honor for me to get back there to take the head coaching position.”
For Consalvi, she said the position was the only one out there that she would’ve considered leaving the Taunton job for.
“I took a couple weeks to decide because obviously the Taunton job means a lot to me, the city means a lot to me, the players mean a ton to me,” Consalvi said. “Ideally if I could have another year here at Taunton and then take the Bridgewater job that would’ve been the ideal situation, but that’s not how things work.”
Consalvi was hired to coach Taunton softball in 2020, replacing legendary longtime coach Dave Lewry, who led the Tigers to four state titles during his 20 seasons (2000-2019) in charge, having replaced longtime legendary coach Jack Tripp, who led Taunton to their first state championship in 1997 and for who their field is made. Under the trio’s leadership, the Tigers have qualified for the postseason every season since 1984.
“I hope during my tenure there, although short, I hope I was able to keep it at the standards as to what they expect to happen there,” Consalvi said. “I feel like I at least carried the trajectory that (Lewry) was upholding and Jack Tripp was upholding before him that they expect nothing less than success, so I’m happy to say that over the last two years that continued there, but it was an honor to be a part of that.”
In particular, it’s the players she’s coached in Taunton that she’s the most proud of and has full faith that they’ll continue to succeed and compete at the highest levels.
“They are tremendous student athletes and it was one of the best experiences of my life getting to coach that group of athletes,” Consalvi said. “I’m super proud of what they do on and off the field and how they represent their community. I know that they are going to continue to be successful, there is a wonderful group that I sadly leave behind but no doubt that they will compete again next year for another state title, there’s no other way. They don’t know any other way and even as different as this year’s team was from the team before it, they find a way to come together and make things happen. It starts with the community and it’s just a place that knows how to win and knows how to make things happen, so I know all of those athletes are a part of that.”
As for Bridgewater, Consalvi said she’s excited by the progress made under previous head coach Lindsey Courtier, including winning the MASCAC championship this past spring for the first time since 2019 and the first time solely since 2014, and hopes that she can bring the program back to the level they were at while she was a student athlete.
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“(Under Courtier) they were on the right trajectory and I definitely plan to have it be what it was like when I was there, the level of success when we were dominating the MASCAC and we were expected to go to regionals, I’d like to bring us back to that spot within the next few years,” Consalvi said. “I know it won’t be easy, it’s never easy.”
As for Taunton, no immediate decision has been announced on a replacement for Consalvi.
Taunton Daily Gazette sports reporter Cameron Merritt can be reached at cmerritt@tauntongazette.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @CamMerritt_News. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to the Taunton Daily Gazette today.
This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: Taunton softball’s Consalvi named head coach at Bridgewater State
