Lafayette College Athletics

Ashley Gerhart recently completed her third season as an assistant coach on the Lafayette softball team, working under head coach Caitlyn de la Haba.

In her first season (2020), the Leopards bettered their RPI by 12 points from 2019 to 2020, despite just playing 12 games in the COVID-19 shortened season. Lafayette captured one of the biggest wins in recent program history with a walk-off winner vs. Kent State in the Duke University Invitational on the night before the season ended. 

In the COVID-abbreviated 2021 season, the Leopards placed two student-athletes, Natasha Miner and Morgan Olynyk, on the Academic All-Patriot League Team. 

In 2022, more honors followed as Miner was a repeat winner of Academic All-Patriot League honors while Grace Harvey also secured the award. Freshman shortstop Harlie Bickett turned in a solid rookie season to garner All-Patriot League Second-Team status. The pitching staff shaved five runs off its ERA from the previous season while Leopard pitchers struck out 143 batters.

Prior to Lafayette, Gerhart spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Manhattanville College where she helped lead the program to a 68-20 mark en route to a pair of MAC Freedom Conference championships and two NCAA Regional appearances.
 
During her time at the Division III school in Purchase, N.Y., players garnered 13 all-conference selections and 27 All-MAC Academic Honors. In addition, the program featured the conference pitcher of the year in 2018 and the conference player, pitcher and rookie of the year in 2019 when the team won a school-record 41 games.
 
Prior to Manhattanville, Gerhart spent the 2017 season with the Lafayette softball program under former coach Jexx Varner. Gerhart helped coach Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year Brooke Wensel, as the team posted a program-best .970 fielding percentage and saw 13 players achieve Patriot League Academic Honor Roll status.
 
Gerhart was a three-time All-Northeast Conference (NEC) selection in the outfield at Robert Morris during her playing career from 2013-16. She earned NEC Rookie of the Year honors and was an All-NEC First-Team pick in 2013, helping lead the program to one of two NEC regular-season titles during her tenure. A two-time Easton/NFCA Scholar-Athlete in 2014 and 2016 and a five-time NEC Academic Honor Roll selection, she also captained the squad as a senior, when RMU reached the NEC Tournament championship game.
 
Gerhart finished her career in Moon Township as a .318 hitter with 17 homers, 73 RBI, 187 hits and 62 walks, starting 196 of her 197 appearances. She graduated in the school’s career top 10 in eight different categories: third in walks, games played and at-bats (588); fourth in hits; sixth in runs (101); seventh in home runs; eighth in doubles (27) and 10th in stolen bases (28).
 
She secured her bachelor’s degree from Robert Morris in Business Administration in 2016 and later completed her master’s degree in Sports Business and Entertainment Management from Manhattanville in 2019.