By Mike Rubin, news@woburnonline.com (May 9, 2007) Not long ago, Kristen Mahoney served as one of the finest softball pitchers in the history of the Burlington High softball team. Now, this senior ace and co-captain from the UMass Lowell softball team hopes to finish out her collegiate career in style, in paving the way for an appearance in the Division 2 College World Series.

"It's definitely an exciting time, and I just want to go out and have fun," said Mahoney, a former Daily Times Chronicle All-Star and All-Scholastic. "I have such awesome teammates, and it's been an incredible four years. I just hope we can go out, play our best softball and finish out on top."

As, the No. 1 ace, she led the Lady Devils to prominence and a pair of deep tournament runs in 2002 and 2003. Mahoney ventured off to the college ranks where she slowly emerged as a shining star for the River Hawks. Although the adaptation at the higher level was quite challenging, she still managed to establish successful runs during her freshman and sophomore years. Mahoney also had the benefit of pairing up with long-time close friend and batterymate Melissa Hanafin.

"She's (Melissa) deserves a lot of credit," said Mahoney. "We've been friends for such a long time, and I feel so comfortable working with her. We just have a connection every time I head out there, and she just makes things so much easier for me."

One former Middlesex League foe Mahoney has certainly bonded with over the years has been Winchester's Vikki Guido. A former all-star herself, Guido and Mahoney have also developed a special bond during their four years on the squad.

"I remember when we used to face each other in the Middlesex League," said Mahoney. "She's (Guido) is such a great hitter, and it was great that we were able to be on the same team together. I used to fear her a lot because I knew how a good of a hitter she is, and I'm just so lucky that she's my teammate."

Following her sophomore season, Mahoney, who already has a solid fastball, change-up and drop curve, worked with several coaches during the off-season in developing a rise ball. As a result, Mahoney recorded a combined mark of 38-8 during her junior and senior seasons, while emerging as one of the area's top softball aces.

"I worked on my (rise ball) really hard, and once I got comfortable with it, I started using it as part of my pitch selections," said Mahoney. "It really helped me out a lot, and I started getting more and more confidence. These past four years have been an unbelievable experience, and I've learned so much from my coaches and teammates."

In her junior season, Mahoney guided the River Hawks to an impressive 34-22 overall mark along with a trip in the Division 2 Regional tournament. Any hopes of a run to the nationals would be quickly halted following a loss in the second round. As a result of hard work and successful accomplishments, Mahoney was named as the NE-10 Conference Pitcher of the Year.

"We really started to come together during my junior year, and we were able to qualify for the tournament," said Mahoney. "It was a great experience, and we're hoping we'll be able to build off of that this year. We have a lot of experience and talent, and we're just going to go out there, have fun and do the best we can do."

Following a rigorous training regimen in the off-season, Mahoney delivered another solid effort during her senior year. Leading the River Hawks to a 28-20 mark, Mahoney recorded an impressive 17-8 mark while posting a 2.40 earned run average along with 187 strikeouts, 21walks and three shutouts. During her senior season, she also established school records for wins (64), strikeouts (540) during her four year career.

"It's a great feeling," said Mahoney. "I wasn't even aware of the (records) during the season, because I was just focusing on going out there, pitching well and helping my team win games."

Recently she delivered a heroic performance during the NE-10 Conference tournament recording a win against LeMoyne and a save against Bryant last weekend.

Guided by Mahoney's efforts, the River Hawks captured the conference tournament championship and qualified for the Division 2 Regionals for the second straight season. Mahoney was also named tournament MVP for her efforts.

"That was probably one of the greatest moments during my four years here," said Mahoney. "It was a long day, and we knew what we were up against, but we stayed together and worked hard as a team and we were able to pull out the (championship)."

With her collegiate playing days now in her twilight, Mahoney plans on attending the school's graduate program next year where she'll aim to pursue her master's degree in elementary education. Currently she plans on serving as an elementary school teacher as well as possible coaching opportunities at the high school level.

"I think it would be great to coach (softball)," said Mahoney. "I've always wanted to be a teacher, and it's going to be a lot of fun. I would love the opportunity to coach (softball) at some point."

Now Mahoney will aim to end her collegiate career in style where the eighth seeded River Hawks will venture to C.W. Post in Long Island, New York where they'll face to-seeded LeMoyne in a rematch on Friday afternoon in the first round of the Regionals.

"It's definitely exciting, but we have our work cut out for us," said Mahoney. "We just have to go out there and play like we can and hopefully, we can make a run at it. It's been a great four years here, and it would be awesome if we were able to go all the way to the (championship)."