November 12, 1998

NOTRE DAME, Ind. — Notre Dame head softball coach Liz Miller announced the signings today of four high school seniors to national letters of intent. Shortstop Andria Bledsoe (Higley, Ariz.), infielder Andrea Loman (Riverside, Calif.), middle infielder Alexis Madrid (Temecula, Calif.) and first baseman/catcher Lisa Mattison (Granger, Ind.) will make up Notre Dame’s class of 2003.

“We’re very excited about this class,” Miller said. “I think it’s one of the top recruiting classes we’ve ever had.”

Bledsoe earned all-conference honors a year ago while batting .406 for Highland High School in Gilbert, Ariz. She also plays with L’il Saints during the summer travel season and earned the team’s Golden Glove award for defense in 1997.

“We recruited Andria for her defense as a middle infielder,” Miller said. “She has great hands and expect her to see time at shortstop next year.”

Loman was recently named a 1998 Amateur Softball Association (ASA) All-American while playing for the Southern California Athletics. She also was a member of the 12-and-under ASA national championship team and the 14-and-under national runner-up. At Poly High School, Loman was an all-California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), all-county and all-league selection.

“Andrea is a strong, physical athlete,” Miller says. “She’s still a raw talent, who we believe is going to get better and better every year.”

Madrid, another 1998 ASA All-American, is a two-time first-team all-league selection at shortstop for Temecula Valley High School. She is a scholar-athlete with a 3.9 grade-point average and serves as team captain.

“Alexis will contribute a lot of speed to our lineup,” Miller said. “We really needed to add that element (speed) to our lineup and she’s also a great middle infielder.” Mattison will be used next year at catcher and first base. She earned all-city, all-league, all-district and all-region honors in both Michigan (as a freshman) and in Indiana, while playing for Penn High School over the past two seasons. Mattison, the daughter of Notre Dame football defensive coordinator Greg Mattison, plays summer ball for Foster Oil under Dick Foster in Ann Arbor, Mich.

“We expect Lisa to contribute offensively right away,” Miller said. “She can also play both catcher and first base for us next season.”