ESPN RISE

In its third decade of honoring the nation's best high school athletes, Gatorade joined with RISE Magazine to name junior pitcher RACHELE FICO of MASUK HIGH as its 2007-2008 Connecticut Softball Player of the Year.

The 5-foot-8 junior right-handed pitcher finished 27-0 with a 0.07 ERA, recording 486 stirkeouts in 195 innings this seasonto lead the Panthers (27-0) to a second consecutive Class LL state championship. A returning Class LL First Team All-State selection as named by the Connecticut High School Coaches Association, Fico tossed a no-hitter in the 1-0 state title victory against Naugatuck, earning state tournament Most Valuable Player honors. She concluded her junior season with 12 no-hitters and seven perfect games. Fico also produced a .424 batting average, 21 runs scored, 20 RBI and three home runs in 27 games this spring.

Fico has maintained a B average in the classroom. She volunteers on behalf of multiple community-service initiatives, mentoring youth athletes as a pitching instructor at the Panthers Softball Academy in addition to donating her time at the Ashlar of Newtown nursing home, where she has played bingo with the elderly.

"There are not enough adjectives to describe what she means to our team," said Masuk head coach Jacqui Sheftz. "She's the heart and soul of the team. Hands down, in a lot of people's opinions, she's the best softball player in the state of Connecticut. She's just an all-around softball player. They walk her like she's Barry Bonds, and you always want Rachele in the circle for you. Her pitching stats are just crazy. I can't make this stuff up. I've never seen anything like it."

Fico has verbally committed to a softball scholarship to Louisiana State University for the fall of 2009.