LGS: Softball Edition
Colin recounts how good it felt to have Penn State softball come to Charlotte in the latest edition of "Let's Go State!"
It was February in Charlotte.
Many of you know I grew up in the Northeast and have strong Pennsylvania and New York roots. February in the Northeast? Brutal. Especially in Syracuse. I remember many birthdays (I was born on February 15th… yuck) where I was greeted with presents from Mother Nature in the form of a foot of snow with windchills in the negatives.
But February in the Southeast? Beautiful. There are many days when it gets to 70 degrees Fahrenheit or above. And although you see lots of blooming trees, the pollen hasn’t entirely kicked in like it will in March. This means you can go outside and not go on an immediate sneezing streak or have red, puffy, and itchy eyes.
So it was thrilling when I found out that Penn State softball was headed down to Charlotte for the Queen City Classic at the end of February. It was almost guaranteed to be good enough softball weather, and I have a connection, albeit a tiny one, to the Penn State softball team. Plus, I was interested to see what all the hype was about 2022 All-American Boo Vannoy on my hometown 49ers. Lots of excitement and reason to get out of the house.
And this was a big deal to me. See, the pandemic plus having two kids nearly wiped out all of the entertainment things I used to love to do. Going to watch a baseball or softball game was easily at the top of the list of things I missed the most. I talked on the latest episode of CERNIG about how I’ve made a conscious effort to have more experiences in 2023. So I headed to “The Sue” as it’s known on the campus of UNC Charlotte and got ready to soak in the game.
The first thing I noticed? The stadium was jammed! This was a non-conference game in February being played between a D1 school not known for its softball prowess and a mid-major who is batting around some noise in the softball world, but a mid-major nonetheless. It was also 4 pm on Friday. So it was really cool to see a large mix of 49ers and Nittany Lion fans on hand. Because the stadium was so packed I ended up in the bleachers down the third base line, just about even with where the left fielder plays.
The next thing I noticed? The pace of the game. Woo baby were they moving! It was great. There was very little standing around and a lot of action. It was incredible. Nothing has me more excited about softball and baseball than the fact that the slow pace of the game is finally being addressed… and in a big way.
Then I noticed something I had forgotten about softball. The Nittany Lions, in particular, were very animated on the bench. They had constant chants happening and were clearly rooting hard for their teammates. That’s not to say that Charlotte was a bunch of church mice, but Penn State was louder and more consistent. The energy from that was so cool. It’s the extreme opposite of baseball, which can be quiet, tense, and sloooooow. Did I mention I’m thrilled the sport is finally addressing the slowness this season?
And then it got really good…
A handful of years ago I got connected to Dani Fey. Dani is a great kid, and was, at the time, playing for Penn State softball. I had Dani on my Dynamic Leaders podcast and we even did special episodes together. We have a unique bond, one that started with our school and grew through our love of sports and competition.
Dani is now graduated and working for the athletic department at Penn State. Buuuuuut, she has a girlfriend. That girlfriend goes by the name of Kaitlyn Morrison. And Kaitlyn was the starting third baseman that day for the Nittany Lions.
In Kaitlyn’s first at-bat, she roped a double down the left-field line. I watched that with my own two eyes and no camera and I was impressed — especially with how hard she hit the ball.
So the game kept moving along and the two teams headed to the top of the 4th inning with Penn State up 1-0. Kaitlyn was due up that inning and I thought, Hey, why not get a video to send to Dani? That’s how innocent a thought it was. I just wanted to get a nice shot of Kaitlyn and send it to Dani.
The at-bat gets started and you can tell right away that Kaitlyn is feeling good. She takes a couple of hard rips and fouls two pitches straight back; this is the universal sign in the sport that a hitter is locked in and juuuust missed a pitch.
So Kaitlyn is down in the count, not ideal for a hitter. But then something magical happened. Kaitlyn took another mighty swing and this time she connected. People who love this sport can tell you that there is a particular sound that comes off the bat when you know you got it. I heard that sound and my eyes and phone camera locked on the ball. It was hit hard so I had to react fast to capture whatever it was going to be. Kaitlyn hit the ball our way, out to left field. My head turned to track the ball as it continued to rise and carry past the left fielder. The ball kept carrying and then I heard someone shout something like “It’s going out!”* The next thing I knew, the ball had sailed over the fence FOR A HOME RUN!
*Video replay has the individual simply saying “It’s gone.”
I couldn’t believe it. But now I had a job to do. What went from being an innocent thought thrillingly turned otherworldly. I quickly turned the camera back to the playing field as Kaitlyn was rounding second base and now fully in her home run trot. I zoomed in on her and then captured the moment she landed on home plate, surrounded by her teammates who were jumping all around.
What a team moment. All the exclamation point moments in sports are cool but to have your entire team huddled around you after you hit a big homer? Nothing like it. Nothing better.
My blood was pumping — remember, it wasn’t me who hit the homer, but still — and I knew what to do next. I had to send the video to Dani. The cell service was spotty but the video finally made it through and then the very best thing happened. Dani was PUMPED! I didn’t know it then, but that was Kaitlyn’s first home run. I mean, WOW. Truly unbelievable.
It’s one of those moments where you had to be in the right place at the right time. And there I was. I don’t normally consider myself lucky but that sure felt good. I was also beaming with joy and I joked with Dani that I was so proud of Kaitlyn — like she was my own kid. Dani’s response?
She is because she’s Penn State.
Click on the link from the image to watch Kaitlyn Morrison drill a home run courtesy of Colin Cerniglia’s iPhone.
It’s taken me a little while to write about this experience. I guess that’s life when you have two kids under the age of three.
Part of me is glad I took the time to let this moment marinate before writing about it. Writing about it at the moment would have been cool. It would have been raw.
But something sentimental came from waiting. I adore Dani. I think she’s a great “kid” with such a bright future. I’m really rooting for her. And to share in a very personal moment — again, almost entirely by chance — that’s just the chef’s kiss. The cherry on top.
It’s another reminder of how powerful sports can be. It brings people together. It gives us joy. It helps us learn from failure. It gives us a reason to celebrate. All of that and more was true on that February day in Charlotte.
Oh, and by the way, Penn State won the game 3-0.
Kaitlyn’s homer run tally at the point of this writing is at five (5) and she has an incredible 1.076 OPS in 25 games played. It’s a career year for the senior and I hope the good times keep on rollin’ for Kaitlyn.
WE ARE!