BOSTON – Over the next few weeks, GoSuffolkRams.com will take a look at the teams, student-athletes and special honorees to be inducted into the Suffolk University Athletics Hall of Fame this October. Our next installment features arguably the best hitter in the history of the Rams’ softball program, Jess Ferreira ’09.
No one commanded the plate for Suffolk like Ferreira. A .471 career hitter (227-482), which ranks third-all time in Rams history, Ferreira batted under.300 just a handful times in her career. While she collected 227 career hits with 194 runs batted in, speed was her game and she demonstrated plenty to the tune of 37 career swipes.
At the conclusion of her time in blue and gold, Ferreira walked away with nearly every Rams hitting record. The shortstop holds the program’s mark for runs scored (160), hits (227), doubles (45), triples (26), home runs (37), RBI (194) and total bases (435). Ferreira is second-best all-time in slugging percentage (.902), while sitting third in batting average (.471), walks (60) and on-base percentage (.531).
After a decorated high school career at Cambridge Rindge & Latin, Ferreira made the short trek to Beacon Hill where she stepped right in as the Rams slugger. She was named Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Rookie of the Year, after kicking off her record-setting career by bringing in the most runs (58) and scoring the most runs (50) by a single Ram in a single season. During that dominating 2006 campaign, she knocked 13 balls out of the park as a freshman, the most by a Suffolk player in a season, on her way to earning a spot on the National Fastpitch Softball Coaches Association (NFCA)’s All-American second team and a NEISCA All-New England honorable mention nod.
In 2007, the Cambridge, Massachusetts, native continued to build her impressive resume at the plate for the Rams. After producing a .439 batting average off 49 hits including six triples and homers, Ferreira earned GNAC Player of the Year, first team All-New England All-Star and NEISCA All-New England honorable mention accolades.
Ferreira picked up right where she left off as a junior, turning in her most impressive year at Suffolk, leading the NCAA in slugging percentage 1.073 and turning in 118 total bases, the most for a Ram in a single season. She became just one of three players in Suffolk history to eclipse the 60-hit mark with the second-most hits in a season (60), including eight triples, which also ranks second in the program’s single season record books. Ferreria also etched her name in the single-season record book in RBI (51 – second), runs scored (43- third) and batting average (.545 – third). She would go on to claim her second straight GNAC Player of the Year honor and was voted a first-team GNAC All-Star.
To cap her brilliant career, Ferreira hit the ball 59 times, including 10 home runs and seven triples off a .484 clip. For the third time in her career the GNAC honored her as the top player and she was named to the 2009 Lousiville Slugger/NFCA Division III All-America and NFCA All-Region.
The two-year captain finished her four-year career as a Ram with astounding numbers that placed her in the career leaders’ record books among all NCAA Division III softball players. In 155 games played, she finished with a .471 batting average (tied 24th), 37 home runs (tied 14th), 194 RBI (tied 8th) and 227 career hits. Ferreira boasts a .902 career slugging percentage (7th) and a .531 career on-base percentage.
As impressive as she was on the diamond, Ferreira’s accomplishments in the classroom were nothing less than remarkable. Enrolled in the demanding Criminology & Law major, the two-year President of Student Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) gained a spot on the CoSida Academic All-District team in 2007. She was also recognized for her educational efforts as she was awarded Suffolk University’s Charles Law Student-Athlete Award, an honor the recognizes a student-athlete for excellence in athletics and academics.
Ferreira is the fifth softball player to be inducted into the Suffolk Athletics Hall of Fame, including multi-sport athletes.
The 2015 Hall of Fame class features six Rams, one distinguished team and two special honorees to join the 35 existing Suffolk University Athletics Hall of Famers.
The 2015 Suffolk Athletics Hall of Fame Induction Banquet will be held on Saturday, Oct. 3 at 12 p.m. at 20 Somerset. Tickets to the luncheon and induction ceremony for the Class of 2015 are available here.
Fans can catch up on previous Hall of Fame Series below: