Gleason commits

Ashley Gleason, a pitcher and third baseman who will enter her senior

season this spring on Newport Harbor High’s softball team, has

verbally committed to attend Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H., she

confirmed Thursday.

A three-time Newport-Mesa Dream Team selection, Gleason earned

first-team All-Sea View League laurels and was named the Sailors’

Most Valuable Player after last season.

Several Division I schools, including Harvard, University of

Chicago, Colgate University, Holy Cross and Chapman University

(Division III) also sought Gleason, who can sign a national letter of

intent in April.

“Dartmouth heavily recruited me for a long time,” Gleason said. “I

visited in October and loved the campus. It ranks really high

academically, which is the reason you go to college.”

Selected the top female scholar-athlete-citizen from Newport and a

state nominee for the Wendy’s High School Heisman award, Gleason

plans to pursue a degree in design engineering.

On the field, she tallied 120 strikeouts in 128 1/3 innings,

finishing 6-13 with a 1.20 ERA for Newport last season. Gleason led

the Sailors in hitting (.321 batting average) while collecting eight

RBIs, good for second on the team.

Gleason also played on Newport’s field hockey team during her

sophomore and junior seasons, helping the Sailors claim the program’s

first Tournament of Champions title in 2003. She didn’t play last

fall in order to focus on softball.

Dartmouth, nicknamed “Big Green,” competes in the Ivy League and

went 17-20 overall a year ago.

-- Bryce Alderton