DETROIT (9/28/23) – Detroit Mercy softball Head Coach Dan Vitale finalized his coaching staff for the upcoming 2024 season with the with the additions of Assistant Coaches Taylor Moceri, Pam Savich, Rob Ward and Graduate Assistant Leena Mortensen.
 
"I am very excited about my coaching staff this year. All of us work really well together and are on the same page about our goals for this program," said Vitale. "My coaches are always positive, enthusiastic, supportive, trusting, focused, goal-oriented, knowledgeable, observant, respectful, patent and clear communicators. We are looking forward to the upcoming season and are very excited to work with the team and help our student-athletes reach their full potential."


 
Taylor Moceri comes to Detroit Mercy after spending six years a Head Coach for the Michigan Batbusters high-level travel softball team where she led recently led the team to three tournament championships and 28-1-3 overall record during the 2023 summer season. She also served as the varsity softball Head Coach at L'Anse Creuse North High School for three years since 2020.
 
Moceri also was a standout softball student-athlete at the University of Michigan-Dearborn where she was a three-time First-Team All-Conference selection, two-time team captain and 2022 Hall of Fame Inductee. In 2017, she helped the Wolverines earn a Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) regular season championship while earning WHAC All-Conference Defensive Team, WHAC Player of the Week and NAIA Player of the Week honors while being named UM-Dearborn Female Athlete of the Year.
 
Moceri finished as the UM-Dearborn career record holder for batting average (.386), hits (186), runs scored (123) and stolen bases (51) and also holds single-season records for batting average (.445), hits (81), runs (52), stolen bases (21) and stolen base percentage (.954). Her career stats include 182 games played, 239 hits, 162 runs, 91 RBI and an overall career batting average of .381.


 
Pam Savich comes to the Titans after spending three years as an Assistant Softball and Pitching Coach under Vitale at Macomb Dakota High School where she helped guide the Cougars to three consecutive MAC (Macomb Area Conference) Red titles, three straight District crowns, two Regional titles along with a Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) State quarterfinal appearance, runner-up finish in 2021 and No. 1 ranking during the 2023 regular season.
 
Additionally, Savich's 2023 pitching staff posted a combined .742 ERA allowing only 35 runs the entire season and less than .7 walks and hits allowed per inning. Under her direction, ace pitcher Megan Nuechterlein went 19-0 with a .390 ERA allowing only seven runs during her senior campaign earning All-State Honors. She also was named Macomb Area Conference (MAC) Red MVP, was an All-MAC First-Team, All-Region, and All-District selection, Total Sports Player of the Year (2022) and nominee (2023), and Gatorade Player of the Year nominee.
 
Prior to her time at Dakota, Savich served as the Head Coach at University Liggett School where she led the 2016 team, consisting of only 10 student-athletes, to the Michigan State quarter-finals of the Michigan Independent Athletic Conference (MIAC) playoffs.


 
Rob Ward brings 25 years of coaching experience to the Detroit Mercy coaching staff with a history of helping high school student-athletes achieve their dreams of playing softball in all divisions at the collegiate level.
 
Ward has been a part of the Anchor Bay High School softball program since 2017-18 while serving as a Varsity Assistant Coach since 2020 where his responsibilities include overseeing hitting, infield mechanics, base running and player development. He has helped guide the Tars to a 132-50 overall record, two Metro Area Conference (MAC) Red co-championships, three district titles and three regional appearances.
 
Ward also served as an Assistant Coach with Michigan Batbusters 16U softball team helping the squad to a 28-1-3 record and three college showcase tournaments titles during the 2023 season. All of the student-athletes on the Batbuster roster will be attending college earning academic and athletic softball scholarships in 2024 with four players competing at the Division I level.


 
Leena Mortensen returns to the Titans as a Graduate Assistant after a stand-out three-year career as a student-athlete. She was a three-time Detroit Mercy Athletic Director's Honor Roll (2020-22) and three-time Horizon League Fall and Spring Academic Honor Roll member (2020-22).
 
During the 2022 season, Mortensen started in 41 of a team-best 42 games played at designated player and first base where she led the team in at bats (120), ranked second in doubles (5), third in RBI (8), fourth in hits (24), and fifth in batting average (.200).
 
In her first season on the team in 2019, Mortensen ranked third on the team hitting .317 while posting 20 hits and 10 RBI with a .397 slugging percentage in n Horizon League play. She also hit a home run in the Horizon League Quarterfinals versus arch-rival Oakland while helping the Titans claim the Horizon League Championship and NCAA Tournament berth.