BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Bridgewater State University head coach Lindsey Couturier has been selected by her peers as the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Softball Champion’s Choice Coach of the Year.

Couturier, who is in her fourth season at the helm, guided the Bears to the MASCAC Championship Series title in 2021 and a trip to the NCAA Division III Tournament. Bridgewater posted a 17-9-1 regular season record and finished second in the MASCAC standings with a 6-3-1 conference mark.

After dropping the opener of the best-of-three MASCAC Championship Series, the Bears battled back to defeat three-time defending champion Framingham State, two games to one, to claim the program’s tenth conference crown.

By virtue of the MASCAC title, the Bears advanced to the NCAA Division III Tournament for the 23rd time in program history and first since 2014. Bridgewater is seeded fifth at a six-time regional hosted by defending Division III champion Texas Lutheran University in Seguin, Texas. The Bears will take on second-seeded Emory & Henry College on Friday (May 21) afternoon at 1:30 PM (CDT) in the double elimination regional tournament.

Eight members of the BSU softball team garnered All-MASCAC honors under Couturier’s guidance in 2021, including MASCAC Pitcher of the Year, Kelley Reichert.

In her four seasons at the helm of the BSU softball program, Couturier’s Bears have produced an overall record of 59-57-1 (.509) with a 27-10-1 (.724) MASCAC regular season mark.

Couturier is the fifth Bridgewater State softball skipper to earn MASCAC Coach of the Year honors as she joins Chrissy Semler (2014), Lori Salvia (2008), Janet Maguire (2006) and BSU Hall of Famer Dee Dee Enabenter (1998, 1999, 2000).