California University of Pennsylvania Athletics

Although she was an effective hitter, Dana Boyer’s extraordinary defensive skills played a significant role in her earning induction into the Cal U Hall of Fame as well as helping the women’s softball team win consecutive NCAA national championships in 1997 and 1998. A four-year starting catcher for head coach Rick Bertagnolli, Boyer’s consistent, all-around play helped the Vulcans compile a 193-24 cumulative record from 1995 through 1998 that included a perfect 80-0 record against PSAC-West opponents.

During Boyer’s career, Cal earned three PSAC championships, three NCAA II Mid-Atlantic Regional and four PSAC-West crowns. She is the fourth player from the back-to-back national champion softball teams to receive Cal U’s highest athletic honor and joins Danielle Penner, Lith Webb and Meagan Wilton-Pettipiece as Hall of Fame members.

“I had to read the letter a couple times to make sure I was reading it correctly,” said Boyer upon finding out about her induction through President Angelo Armenti, Jr.’s congratulatory letter last summer. “I couldn’t believe it. I had hoped I would eventually make it into the Hall of Fame and am pretty ecstatic. What an honor!”

A redshirt on Cal’s first-ever NCAA Regional title team in 1994, Boyer batted a personal best .383 in 1995 and produced batting averages of .363 and .367 respectively her sophomore and junior seasons. She finished with career totals of 178 hits, 84 runs, 38 walks, 27 doubles, five home runs, 79 RBI, and a .344 batting average. Behind the plate, Boyer is still second in the school record books for career fielding percentage (.987) and career putouts with 1,112. Catching primarily for Penner, a 2004 Cal U Hall of Fame inductee and three-time All-American pitcher, Boyer caught five no-hitters in 1998 and achieved the best fielding season in school history (.994) when she made just two errors in 334 chances. At the 1997 Nationals, Boyer gunned down two base stealers and picked off two other base runners in a 2-0 Cal victory in the national semifinals against Nebraska-Omaha, the top stealing team in the country that season. Boyer helped the Vulcans allow just one unearned run in five national tournament games that season, and Cal was the first softball team to go a perfect 5-0 at the nationals.

Despite Boyer’s defensive exploits against UNO, Cal’s 2-1 victory against Wisconsin-Parkside the following afternoon in the national title game stood out. In the third inning of that game with the Rangers having runners on second and third with one out, Boyer and Penner induced Parkside’s Jackie Aiken, the NCAA career homerun leader, to ground out after taking two strikes—both after Boyer motioned for an intentional walk.

“That was the Johnny Bench play, and Coach [Bertagnolli] signals it in,” said Boyer in reference to Cal imitating a late-inning play in Game 3 of the 1972 World Series executed by the Oakland Athletics on Hall of Fame Cincinatti Reds’ catcher Johnny Bench. “That was something we had worked on four years and never used until the championship game. It was amazing. We would throw a ball outside for the intentional walk, and Penner and I had different signals to each other when she was supposed to throw a strike. It was great, and best of all, it worked.”

Boyer was a first-team, all-conference selection three times and was named a National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) national All-American in 1998. Boyer was also named to the 1997 Mid-Atlantic Regional All-tournament Team and the 1998 NCAA Division II National All-Tournament Team. Cal’s single-season records during the Boyer years were 48-7, 45-5, 53-5 and 47-7.

During the consecutive national title years, Cal produced a 100-12 cumulative record and won 15 of 17 NCAA post-season games, including a 9-1 mark at the national tournaments. In those 10 national tournament games, Cal outscored its opponents 28-8. Boyer praised Bertagnolli for the team’s unprecedented success.

“Coach was able to take us to the next level,” Boyer said. “He was just as dedicated to the game as we were. He knows the sport and his knowledge and love of the game are just tremendous. He drove all of that into us.”

Winning the school’s first NCAA national team championship in 1997 remains the biggest thrill for Boyer in a career filled with memorable moments.

“Both of the championships were so different, and maybe the first one was a little more special for me because that was with my recruiting class that came in with me,” Boyer said. “Playing with Sara Cassin, Kerry Novak and Keri Weaver was something, and I can’t say enough about those people. Every play that we tried at the Nationals that year worked. My family and I every so often cannot help but to sit around and talk about those times because they were so involved and went to every game. That will always be very special to us but to win it back-to-back was special though in its own right.”

Originally from Rural Valley, Pa., and a graduate of Shannock Valley High School, Boyer was a four-year starting scholastic catcher who earned first-team, all-section honors three times. She received her bachelor’s degree in special and elementary education in 1997. Just as her playing days, Boyer looks back pleasantly at her entire experience at Cal U.

“I loved California. It’s a small town and school, and the professors like Dr. Saludis, Dr. Kennedy and Mr. Lancaster were great guys,” said Boyer about who are now three emeriti faculty members. “The education was well worth it, and what I learned, I put forth into my career. The people, especially Dr Armenti and his wife, really made you feel right at home.”

Since her remarkable collegiate career, Boyer has worked at Allegheny Valley School, where she serves as the assistant program director for the non-profit organization for physically and mentally challenged adults. Dana is single and lives in Pittsburgh.