Meet the team

Emily is the Backstop's founder and fearless leader! She aims to develop confidence and grit in her lessons and players (feel bad A$$, play bad A$$) in hopes of elevating the game of Softball in New England. Emily has played softball her whole life and finished her collegiate career in 2013 earning RIC Softballs MVP award. Not only was she a pitcher in college, but she also was a leader in the Anchorwomen's lineup making the Little East Conference team as a DH her freshman year. Since college, Emily has been coaching travel softball for the Waves for almost a decade. In addition to travel ball, she has coached high school teams in both assistance coach and pitching coach roles. Emily has given private hitting and pitching lessons for nearly a decade and has seen the sport evolve over the years. She brings innovative drills and techniques to her lessons that allow players at any level to achieve success. Her focus is on players grasping the concepts and truly understanding the "how" and "why" of player movements. Her degree in Elementary Education allows her to differentiate lessons and cater each lesson to that specific player.

Emily is the Backstop's primary instructor for pitching and hitting lessons.

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Favorite color: Yellow 

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Favorite food: Mexican (tacos are amazing!) and Seafood 

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Favorite Quote: "I never lose, I either WIN or I LEARN." 

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Bridget Hurlman spent the last six seasons as the eighth head coach in Rhode Island softball history from 2015 to 2021. During her time at URI, Hurlman coached one Atlantic 10 All-Conference selection, five All-Rookie picks and two Academic All-Conference honorees. Her players also earned 12 weekly conference honors. In 2016, the team had

the most conference wins in the past fifteen seasons. In 2019, URI had the most over wins it has had in seven seasons.

 

Hurlman came to Rhode Island after spending six seasons as an assistant coach at Manhattan College. She served as the recruiting coordinator and hitting coach for Head Coach Tom Pardalis. During Hurlman’s time with the Jaspers, Manhattan was 59-45 in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play, finishing .500 or better in league play in five out of six seasons.

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A two-time MAAC All-Conference selection and three-time MAAC Academic All-Conference honoree during her playing career at Marist, she served as team captain when the Red Foxes won the MAAC Championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2006.

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Favorite color: Orange 

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Favorite food: Steak and Potatoes

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Favorite Quote: "Your profession is not what brings home your weekly paycheck. Your profession is what you're put here on ear to do with such a passion and such intensity that it becomes a spiritual calling." Vincent Van Gogh

Yesenia is originally from Bethel, Ct. She holds her high school strikeout records; during her time at Bethel, she was an All-State athlete (2 years), All-Conference, All-Conference, All-Division athlete. Yesenia also pitched for the USA team in Spain, pitching the Valencia, Madrid, and Barcelona teams. In the year 2022, she will be inducted into the Bethel High School Hall of fame. 

 

She went on to be a scholarship athlete at Southern Connecticut State University. She accomplished a lot being a pitcher with many strikeouts. Yesenia was also Connecticut Army National Guard/Southern Connecticut State University Athletes of the Week. 

 

After college Yesenia went on to be a private pitching instructor for over 30 young athletes in CT, she is the Head coach for the CT Impact 16U Regional Showcase team and coaches at Cranston High School East. 

 

Yesenia is a behavioral therapist transitioning her role into a special education teacher for the severe and profound. She is finishing her Masters at Grand Canyon University, being a part of the Alpha Chi National College Honor Society. 

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Favorite color: Pink 

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Favorite food: Sushi

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Favorite Quote: "The five S's of sports training are: stamina, speed, strength, skill, and spirit, but the greatest of these is spirit."-Ken Doherty

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Crista spent 4 years at Providence College from 2016-2020 as a skillful infielder. She studied Elementary and Special Education with a minor in Business Administration. She is taking her 5th year to continue her career with the Friars while completing a master’s degree in Higher Education. After learning the middle infield positions her freshman year of college, it landed her a starting position at second base. Through her time at Providence College she earned the Helen Bert award her senior year in honor of the Former Associate Athletic Director for her hard work on the field and in the classroom. She also earned a spot on the Big East All-Academic team in 2019 and 2020. Crista has a passion for growing the game of softball and hopes to instill her passion into every player she works with.

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Favorite Color: Blue 

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Favorite Food: Pizza

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Favorite Quote: “There may be people who have more talent than you, but there’s no excuse for anyone to work harder than you do.” – Derek Jeter

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An experienced coach, instructor and a former all-conference pitcher, Erin (Fuoroli) Bellucci is one of The Backstops' highly skilled pitching instructors!

Fuoroli, who played four seasons for regional power Keene State College before graduating in 2007, went 36-13 in the circle with a 1.78 earned run average, earning Little East Conference (LEC) all-conference honors as a junior and senior. While also appearing in the outfield, Fuoroli pushed the Owls to a 117-43 record in her career with NCAA Tournament appearances during her sophomore and senior seasons. She served as a captain as a senior.

Fuoroli has been a pitching instructor since 2003 and has coached at the college level since  2007. The former hurler was an assistant coach at her alma mater in fall 2007, instructed at winter clinics at Keene State from 2003-07 and worked camps at the University of Massachusetts for three years.
She was a pitching coach at Wheaton College for 3 years, Associate Head Coach at Rhode Island College for 2 and was most recently a pitching coach at Johnson and Wales University before having her son last December.

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Favorite Color: Red

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Favorite Food: Thai Food 

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Favorite Quote: "There may be people who have more talent than you, but there's no excuse for anyone to work harder than you." - Unknown

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Mandi has over 20 years of coaching experience. Mandi is the current Roger Williams University assistant coach, and is a former assistant coach at Brown University (NCAA DI) and Hood College (NCAA DIII). She served four seasons as the top assistant at Hood College, helping the Blazers make their first-ever appearances in the NCAA Division III Softball Championship in 2006 and 2007. She held responsibilities with the Blazer’s pitchers and outfielders. She has also acted as an instructor at the Georgetown University Softball summer camps, Before entering the collegiate coaching ranks, Mandi was the co-founder/President of both WM Fastpitch Camps & Clinics, LLC and the Maryland Xplosion Softball Program.  She also coached softball at both Gaithersburg (MD) and Crystal Lake (IL) South High Schools. Mandi spent 15 years as a physical education and health teacher. She offers her students a unique teaching perspective, bringing her expertise as a former K-12 educator to her instructional approach.  She also served as an athletic trainer at Illinois Wesleyan University (NCAA DIII) and at Illinois State University (NCAA DI). 

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Favorite Color: Green

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Favorite Food: (Real) Mexican Food

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Favorite Quote: “Regardless of how you feel inside, always try to look like a winner. Even if you are behind, a sustained look of control and confidence can give you a mental edge that results in victory.” 

– Arthur Ashe

Jordan is a recent graduate from Southern Connecticut State University where she studied Sport Management with a minor in Marketing. Currently she is pursuing her master's at the University of New Haven. She played for the SCSU Owls where she made the NE10 Weekly Honor Roll as well as named to the ECAC Academic Honor Roll. She was also named the 2016 Cox RI Player of the Year.

 

Jordan is excited to pass down her knowledge and experiences to passionate young athletes. 

 

Favorite Color: Blue

 

Favorite Food: Italian Grinder

 

Favorite Quote: "It's hard to beat a person who never gives up." -Babe Ruth

Lauren played travel ball from age 11 with elite programs including Rhode Island Thunder. She was a 4 year starter at Manchester High School, in Manchester CT where she won All Conference and All State honors, leading her team in both batting and fielding categories. She was awarded Manchester High School’s female athlete of the year. During her junior year of high school, she was recruited to play for the Ireland National Softball team and has played in the World Championships, European Championships, and the European Olympic qualifier as a catcher and first basemen. In 2019, Lauren helped lead the team to a second finish in the U19 European Championships in Italy and third in the U21 Championships in Slovakia. 

Lauren has spent the last four years playing for Salve Regina University as a catcher and utility player, playing her senior season at first base. She holds a record for highest fielding percentage and was awarded all conference while playing for the Seahawks. Lauren hopes to share her knowledge of situational ball with younger players so they are able to make quick decisions in game time scenarios.

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Favorite color: Blue 

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Favorite food: Tacos & Crab Rangoons

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Favorite Quote: “Today I will do what others won’t, so tomorrow I can do what others can’t” - Jerry Rice

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First picking up the game of softball at age 10, Katelyn earned All-State honors and was an Honorable Mention to the All-ECC Team while at Waterford High School. Following this, she played 4 years at Rhode Island College as she studied Elementary Education. As a long time short stop Katelyn earned a starting position on the RIC Team her freshman year. Working hard throughout her four years, she was able to put herself on the leader board for putouts at RIC. Katelyn was also name First Team All-Little East during her tenure there.

 

Currently, Katelyn is a kindergarten teacher in RI. She loves to continue to teach the game of softball by giving lessons and coaching a 16u RI travel team for Waves Softball, which she has done since 2017. 

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Favorite color: Purple 

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Favorite food: French Fries

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Favorite Quote: “Strive for greatness, not perfection."

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