CAREER PHOTO GALLERY
A National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) and Daktronics All-American, three-time All-Region and three-time All-Conference honoree, Nicole Downs helped lead the Chargers to 130 wins, including a school-record 42-8 mark as a senior when the Chargers advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals for the first time in program history.
In addition to her postseason accolades, Downs remains the all-time leader in three major categories; hits (224), home runs (30) and slugging percentage (.608), while she is second in program history in runs scored (141), doubles (45) and RBI (124). Additionally, she remains among the top-10 at New Haven in batting average (.371) and putouts (504).
Downs came out swinging in her rookie campaign, leading the team in batting average (.374), slugging percentage (.590), on-base percentage (.460), runs scored (31), home runs (5) and walks (19). The infielder started all 45 games and earned Daktronics All-Northeast Region and East Coast Conference (ECC) Third Team All-Conference distinction. A three-time State Champion in high school, Downs continued that success right out of the gates at New Haven, opening up her collegiate career a perfect 3-of-3 with a double and a home run, the only run scored in a 1-0 win over No. 14 Nebraska-Omaha.
After spending the summer of 2007 winning the Big League Softball World Series Championship with her hometown of Seymour, Downs returned to New Haven to earn ECAC Division II First Team and NCAA Northeast Regional All-Championship honors, helping lead the Chargers to the national tournament for the first time under head coach Jen Starek. As a sophomore, she again started all 50 games and led the team with a .363 batting average, 31 runs scored and 58 hits which included 10 doubles and six home runs.
Downs added her second All-Region honor after her junior season when she was named to the Northeast-10 All-Conference First Team before being selected to the Daktronics All-East Region team. For the third straight year she didn’t miss a start, while she once again led the Chargers in multiple categories; including batting average (.364), slugging percentage (.582), hits (60), home runs (7), doubles (13), runs scored (35) and on-base percentage (.422); while tying for the team lead with 29 RBI.
During her junior campaign, she made her first appearance in the New Haven all-time laurels when she became the leader in home runs, knocking her 18th career long ball against C.W. Post on May 8, 2009. Additionally, she closed out the 2009 campaign tied for the all-time lead in doubles with 34 heading into her final campaign.
The Nutmeg State native closed out her career in style, putting up career-high numbers in batting average (.386), RBI (51) and home runs (12), all leading to NFCA and Daktronics All-America accolades. Her success on the field contributed to the best season in program history as the Chargers advanced to the national tournament for the third straight year, knocking off crosstown rival Southern Connecticut State University to earn the first, and only, appearance in the Super Regionals.
Among her senior year highlights was being named the Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division II National Player of the Week after leading the Chargers to a perfect 6-0 week, going 11-of-13 with nine runs, five RBI, a double, three home runs and eight walks, all without a strikeout. In addition to her All-America honors, Downs was also named to the NE10 First Team All-Conference and NFCA First Team All-Region teams.
