Buzzards Bay, Mass. --  Kathleen L’Abbe, who has served for the past three seasons as an assistant softball coach at Massachusetts Maritime, has been promoted to the position of Head Softball Coach at the Academy.  L’Abbe’s appointment, which is effective immediately, was confirmed today by Buccaneer Director of Athletics Garin Veris.

A native of New Bedford, Mass., L’Abbe takes over for Megan Giammalvo, who served as Massachusetts Maritime’s head coach for five seasons and led the Buccaneers to their highest single-season win total in a over a decade last spring.  Giammalvo took the reins this fall as the head girls’ volleyball coach at Apponequet Regional High School in Lakeville, Mass., where she works for Buccaneer Hall of Fame baseball pitcher Jim Cabucio ’82. 

A former standout at UMass Dartmouth, L’Abbe played in 72 games over the course of three campaigns for the Corsairs, rapping out 51 hits (including 11 for extra bases) and driving in 25 runs along the way.  She has worked as a counselor and clinician at several camps on the South Coast and Cape and is also certified as a National Federation of State High Schools Association softball umpire.

“Kathleen has played a big part in the growth and resurgence of our program as an assistant, and I’m happy to welcome her as our new head softball coach,” Veris said of L’Abbe’s appointment.  “I also want to thank Coach Giammalvo for all of her hard work over the last five years as head coach, as our coaching staff has worked hard to lay a solid foundation for the future.  I look forward to helping Coach L’Abbe take the next step in the program’s success.”

“I’m proud and extremely excited to lead the program going forward, and I’m very grateful to Garin Veris for giving me this opportunity,” L’Abbe said.  “I’ve been fortunate to be around a great group of young women who are leading this program in the right direction, and I look forward to keeping that momentum going.”

Massachusetts Maritime begins the Kathleen L’Abbe era on Thursday, March 15, 2018 when the Buccaneers head into Boston to battle Wentworth in a non-league doubleheader that begins at 3:30 pm EDT.

Courtesy of Massachusetts Maritime Sports Information