DeLand, Fla. - The Stetson softball team added a major threat to its 2010 lineup this week when former University of South Carolina infielder Jill Semento (Umatilla, Fla.) signed a Grant in Aid agreement to attend the university and play for the Hatters. Semento, who will be a junior at Stetson, was a Louisville Slugger/NFCA All-Southeast Region honoree last season and led the Gamecocks in batting average, RBI, slugging percentage, on-base percentage and walks.
Semento, who primarily played third base and shortstop, hit .313 as a sophomore in 2009 with three home runs, six doubles, 24 RBI and 14 bases on balls. She slugged .469 and recorded a .409 on-base percentage in 35 starts on the way to All-Region honors for South Carolina, which finished the year 21-24 overall and 6-21 in the SEC, widely considered one of the nation's top two softball conferences. Semento's top performances in 2009 included a three for three day with five RBI and a home run against Coastal Carolina on April 7 and a three for four game with two RBI in the May 3 season finale against Kentucky.
As a freshman in 2008, Semento batted .287 with a team-high five home runs and a .487 slugging percentage to go along with six doubles and a .397 on-base percentage in 42 starts. She hit home runs in SEC play against Kentucky and Mississippi State and was a Southeastern Conference Freshman All-Academic honoree at season's end.
A two-time Class 3A First Team All-State player and two-time First Team All-Central Florida honoree for her father, Don, at Umatilla High School, Semento recorded .609 and .650 batting averages in 10th and 11th grade, respectively, and had a 31-game consecutive hitting streak at one point in her prep career.
The daughter of Don and Laura Semento was born Feb. 21, 1989 and will join a Hatter squad primed to rebound from its first sub-.500 campaign in 10 years. Stetson had won at least 35 games in each of the previous seven seasons before going 23-31 (5-15 Atlantic Sun) in 2009. Second Team All-Atlantic Sun center fielder Amy Joyce (Lake Mary, Fla.) returns for her senior year along with ace pitcher Amanda Lindsey (Byhalia, Miss.)
