Dayna DeCarlo, coached by legendary inaugural Hall of Fame inductee Neil Judge, covered the outfield for the Mercy softball team from 1981-84. Well known for her speed, power and canon of an arm, she batted over .500 for her career and is among the program's leaders in nearly every statistical category.
Before her career at Mercy began, she was making waves in Port Chester. She was a pioneer as she became the first female to participate in Port Chester Little League and was named to the District 20 tournament team in her first year. DeCarlo was also a star at Port Chester High School. Her coach, Cathy Federici, called her a coach’s dream because she was a superstar but not over-confident. In her senior year, she belted a three-run home run in the seventh inning to give Port Chester a walk-off 5-3 win to become Section I Class B champions.
She moved on to Mercy where she made an immediate impact, batting .484 with six home runs, 22 runs batted in and 18 stolen bases in her freshman campaign. She followed that up by leading the nation in home runs per game as a sophomore and batted an astounding .603 as a sophomore.
DeCarlo's senior season was her best of all as she led the nation with a .530 batting average (35-for-66), and in home runs per game with .29 (8 home runs for the season). In the opening round of the New York State Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women Division I-II softball tournament, DeCarlo smashed a 320 foot home run to lead Mercy to a 9-8 victory. She still holds the program's single season records for home runs, runs batted in and batting average. For her career at Mercy, she finished with a .518 average, 20 home runs and 102 runs batted in
Upon graduation, DeCarlo’s number four was retired, which she wore for her idol Lou Gehrig. She also enjoyed two seasons at Mercy as an assistant softball coach.
After Mercy she went on to play with the United States Specialty Sports Association from 1978-1989. During that time she received 13 MVPs, two Gold Gloves, twice led the league in home runs, named Best Defensive Player twice, and was on the All-Tournament and All-World teams. From 1983-1989, she hit .671 and smashed 170 home runs. She was the first to be inducted into the New England United States Slo-Pitch Softball Association in 1991.
Now a resident of New Rochelle, DeCarlo currently owns and operates a successful pet-sitting business in Westchester County and is the proud owner of the world’s oldest rabbit at almost 16 years old.
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