Former Oregon State Softball Catcher Joins Saint Francis Staff

First-year SFU Red Flash head coach Bill Vasko has added star power to his coaching staff.

Former Oregon State catcher Abby Doerr recently joined the coaching staff at Saint Francis in Pennsylvania. | Oregon State Athletics

Under the newly appointed head coach, Bill Vasko, a former Oregon State and Alabama standout, is joining the staff at Saint Francis University. 

According to SFU’s 2026 roster, Abby Doerr will return to the field and will join the team in her first role as an assistant coach. The Red Flash recently finished off the fall season with an eight-game stint. 

Doerr, the former catcher and designated player, spent three years with the Crimson Tide, beginning in 2020, before taking her last years of eligibility to play with the Beavers in her home state.

At Alabama, Doerr led the team to the 2021 Women’s College World Series, while making 79 appearances and 65 starts across her Tuscaloosa career. In her final season with the Crimson Tide, she drove in 17 runs off 22 hits. 

Doerr broke out as a player when she landed in Corvallis. In 2023, as a junior, she led the Beavers in home runs at 11 and runs batted in at 30. In 42 games, she played several positions, including catcher, third base, first base, and as the designated player. 

She shocked the Oregon State community in one of her first few appearances at the plate when she ripped two homers, a solo shot and a grand slam, in a 5-1 win over CSUN.

Oregon State Athletics

By her final collegiate season in 2024, she appeared in 49 out of 50 games and had a season-best 11 putouts. She committed just two errors in the season in 255 chances, and ended with a career .216 batting average, a .402 slugging percentage, and a .982 fielding percentage. 

Prior to college ball, Doerr was a star at Elmira and Marist Catholic High Schools. In 2018, she was the 4A Player of the Year and the Sky-Em Conference player of the year, and in 2018, she was the Oregon Sports Award Player of the Year and the Mid-Western League Player of the Year.

Now, as an assistant coach, Doerr will have the opportunity to make an immediate impact on a team that’s rebuilding and transitioning from NCAA Division I to Division III in the 2026 academic year. 

Vasko was hired in July after the previous head coach, Bett Krysiak, departed for a head coaching position at Boston College. He became the 14th head coach in program history and brought a wealth of experience, with a total of 31 years of coaching under his belt. 

Since being hired, Vasko has hit the ground running to improve the program, and Doerr's hiring is a testament to that commitment. 

The Red Flash are coming off back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances and Northeast Conference championships. 

---