By Joe Miegoc
Record Sports Writer
April 18, 2010

Perhaps no one was more surprised by Alicea Ashe's sudden power surge than Ashe herself.

A starter in 30 of the 62 games she played in during her first two years at East Stroudsburg University, Ashe came into this season with two home runs in her career, both coming in 2009.

She wasted no time topping that mark, clubbing three home runs during a five-game stretch as ESU opened its season at the Catawba Invitational in North Carolina at the end of February.

The homers continued for Ashe and the junior centerfielder put her name in ESU's record book when she hit her ninth home run of the season, a grand slam in a 16-4 victory over Philadelphia University on April 8. The blast tied Ashe with former All-Region shortstop Jen Veronesi, the school's all-time home run leader with 18, for most home runs in a single season. The Warriors have at least six more games left this season, with two coming in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference playoffs.

Get to know Ashe for her power at the plate, career aspirations and how she ended up in the Poconos from Hyde Park, N.Y.

You hit two home runs your first two years at ESU and you have nine this season. What's the reason for the power surge?

ASHE: Honestly, I was asking myself the same question. I've been working out and getting stronger. I've definitely improved my swing a lot the past two years.

Were there certain things you were working on with your swing, some kinks that you were trying to fix?

ASHE: Last year I was dropping my shoulder a lot and now I'm bringing my hands to the pitcher and hitting through the ball instead of dropping my shoulder and popping up a lot.

Did you hit a lot of home runs in high school?

ASHE: Not really. I had a few. Maybe four or five, but not really that many.

So this is new to you. Hitting the first one had to be nice and the second one, too, but now you're at nine. What's the feeling like as you're circling the bases? Is it hard for you to believe?

ASHE: Yeah kind of. At the beginning of the season I had three right off the bat and I was like, "Oh, I don't know, it's probably just whatever," but once I started hitting more I was surprised. It's pretty much the same feeling every time. I'm not really used to it.

Do your teammates expect you to hit home runs now? Do they give you hard time about it or have they given you a nickname?

ASHE: They do get on me a lot about it a lot, but I don't think they expect me to hit a home run when I get up. I think it just happens. No, not really (any nicknames), but they have been making jokes like, "What did you eat for breakfast?" or, "What have you been on lately?" They've just been making jokes about it.

This has to be an enjoyable experience to have a new part of your game to put on your résumé.

ASHE: It's been pretty enjoyable. When people see me they congratulate me especially because I only have to hit one more to break the school record.

Is this something you could have imagined going into the season, that this far in you'd only be one home run away from setting a new single-season school record?

ASHE: Not really honestly, but I'm not pressing for it. When you press for something like that it doesn't happen. I'm just going to go up (to the plate) and do what I do and if it happens it happens and if it doesn't it doesn't.

What's your major?

ASHE: I'm a sports management major.

Is that something you've always been interested in? What do you hope to do in that field once school is over?

ASHE: I've always been interested in it. When I get done I want to work in facilities management. I want to go to graduate school, but I'm not sure about that yet. It's always been one of my goals to work in facilities management.

Explain exactly what facilities management is.

ASHE: It's an event manager working in an arena or something like that. Handling basketball games and things like that.

How did you get interested in that and think that was a career path you'd like to go down?

ASHE: My brother (Eric Clark), who is four years older that me, that was his major and he told me about all the things he got do. He got to work at the Dunkin' Donuts Center up in (Cumberland) Rhode Island and I always thought that was something interesting. And once I got to college and started learning more and more about the major I became really interested in it.

Eric is your only sibling. Is that a situation where you might look up to him a little bit and thought going down the same road might be something you'd like to do?

ASHE: He would always tell me about all the classes he had taken and all the different things he got to do. That's basically where my interest in the major came from.

How did you end up at ESU?

ASHE: My high school softball coach (at Franklin D. Roosevelt High School) knew the coach (at ESU) and he would always talk to me about it, but at first I wasn't really all that interested until I actually came and saw the school. Once I came and visited I really liked it here. I started talking to the coach (at ESU) and sent her tapes and that's how I found about the school. I had never even heard of the school until my (high school) coach told me about it.

So how do you go from not being interested to ending up at ESU?

ASHE: I found out that Jen Veronesi also came to this school and she went to one of the high schools (Arlington High School in Lagrangeville, N.Y.) around me back home. She also came here and was a standout softball player and I asked her about what she thought about it and how she liked it. Once I visited here this was where I wanted to be.

That's interesting because Jen held the single-season home run record and has the career record. Have you gotten a chance to talk to her lately?

ASHE: Not lately I haven't. I haven't talked to her since last season.

What was some of the feedback you got from her about ESU?

ASHE: I really remembered her saying how much she liked it here. I asked her about the softball program and she loved it here. There was also another girl, Janine Turcio (a letterwinner in 2007-08 for ESU's women's soccer team), who I didn't actually know went here until I saw her and talked to her about it, and she really like it here, too. I figured I came here (on a visit) and really liked it and they all loved it.

Back to softball, the team is close to the PSAC playoffs (the Warriors actually wrapped up the fourth spot Friday to make the postseason for a fourth straight year) and you're close to the record, where do you go from here now?

ASHE: For me, I'm just going to try to keep doing what I've been doing. I know I tied the record and if I (break) it then it happens. I'm just going to keep doing what I've been doing, trying to hit the ball and get on base. As a team, I just think we need to be focused on the goal of getting this playoff spot and winning all our games to get into the playoffs.