Montclair State University Athletics

In 1991, Kristi Kuchinski came to Montclair State as a young shortstop and at times struggled as most freshmen do. By the time she left the Red Hawks four years later she had emerged as one of the finest players the program had seen. A solid player in her initial campaign, Kuchinski batted .322 with 11 doubles and 26 RBI as a young Montclair squad qualified for the ECAC Tournament. The following season, the left-handed hitter with the “sweet swing” moved behind the plate and was an integral part in Montclair’s Cinderella run to the 1992 NCAA Division III Softball Championship where the Red Hawks would place third. Kuchinski was named an ECAC All-Star that season. The following year Kuchinski had a breakout campaign batting .403 with 54 hits, 14 doubles and 43 RBI as Montclair reached the final of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Tournament. Kuchinski was selected First-Team All-NJAC and was an NCAA Division III All-America Second-Team pick. Her final season proved to be the best as she batted an amazing .471 with a .546 on-base percentage, driving in a record 56 runs while becoming the first player to top 100 total bases in a season. For the second straight year she was named an All-American by the NSCA and landed a spot on the Mid-Atlantic Regional All-Tournament Team. All totaled, Kuchinski started all 169 games in he career hitting .378 with 192 hits, 10 triple and a career slugging percentage of .561 in addition to scoring 120 run. She set the career records for doubles (46) and RBI (145) and she became the first player in program history to record 175 hits, 100 runs scored and 100 runs batted in.