Yerdon dominated on pitching mound

Margaret Yerdon has not succeeded at everything she has ever tried. It just seems that way.

When you bring a team its first state title, you tend to earn a reputation.

Yerdon did just that in 1997, when she pitched the Sandy Creek Comets to the state Class C softball crown. A senior that season, Yerdon tossed a three-hitter in the championship game as Sandy Creek defeated Section 2's Maple Hill, 3-2 in nine innings, at Clifton Park. She added a key RBI triple in the game, too.

Yerdon finished her Sandy Creek career with a pitching record of 78-8 and 976 strikeouts. She was a four-time member of the Times' All-North softball team, earning MVP honors in '97. A strong all-around athlete at Sandy Creek, Yerdon also participated in basketball and soccer. She scored 1,464 points in basketball, making the Times' All-North team in that sport three times.

After leaving Sandy Creek, Yerdon went on to Binghamton University, helping the school's softball program make the jump from Division III to Division I.

Yerdon's success continued at Binghamton. In 1999, she was a Division II Regional All-American. In 1999 and 2000, she was named the NECC All-Conference Pitcher of the Year. And in 2002, she made the America East All-Conference first team.

She left Binghamton as the program's all-time leader in career strikeouts (431) and career ERA (1.40).

Yerdon, 28, holds bachelor's and master's degrees from Binghamton, and she is pursuing a doctorate at the University of Rochester, where she serves as an assistant softball coach.

In 2007, Rochester earned a share of the University Athletic Association championship and took the Liberty League crown. Yellow jackets head coach Michelle Burrell and Yerdon were honored by both leagues as Coaching Staff of the Year.

Rochester repeated as Liberty League champion this season.

Yerdon, a two-time gold medalist in softball at the Empire State Games, is a four-year survivor of cancer.

To read about previous selections to the Times' list of The North Country's Greatest 100 Athletes of All Time, log on to www.watertowndailytimes.com