NORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk State softball program and head coach
James Inzana announced today the hiring of Melissa "Mo" Scata as an assistant coach with the program.
Scata returns to the collegiate game after spending the last several years as an AAU coach and a private instructor. She coached the Brand New Ballgame Hornets fastpitch 16U and 18U teams from 2015-18, and she also served as an instructor at Brand New Ballgame in her home state of Massachusetts from 2013-18.
"Melissa is passionate about softball and about student-athlete success," said Inzana. "She will be a welcome addition to our hitting and bring a wealth of knowledge about the catching position too.
"Mo brings an extremely positive attitude toward her job, has a very infectious, uplifting personality to all those around her, but also has a very competitive nature," he continued. "She will be a big addition to our program."
Scata served for two seasons as an assistant coach at Curry College in 2013 and '14. The Colonels finished 49-35 in her two seasons there, including 21-15 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC).
During Scata's two years there, a total of seven players earned either first- or second-team all-conference honors, including 2014 league Rookie of the Year Marissa Bruno, and six players were named honorable mention. The team improved its batting average by 30 points from her first to her second year.
Prior to her stint at Curry College, Scata served as the head softball coach at Concord Academy from 2010-11 and at her alma mater Medway High School in 2012, and as the JV field hockey coach at Medway from 2010-12. Before joining Brand New Ballgame, she served as an instructor at Sluggers Academy in 2012.
A four-year letterwinner at Keene State College in New Hampshire, Scata still holds the school's career home run record at 27 while ranking second in RBI (123) and fourth in slugging (.592). A catcher and designated hitter, she was a three-time All-Little East Conference honoree and a second-team NEISCA (New England Intercollegiate Softball Coaches Association) D-III All-Star.
A native of Medway, Massachusetts, she graduated in 2008 from Keene State with a bachelor's degree in management.
