Five Neshaminy softball players were recognized at a special signing ceremony on May 27, 2010, for accepting scholarships to play their sport at the collegiate level.
Samantha Bender – Ithaca (Softball)
Major: Biochemistry
Final list of colleges: Ithaca, Arcadia, York
Reasons for choosing Ithaca: “When I went on my visit, I really loved it. It’s really nice, and I liked the softball program. Also, Sam Creamer is going to Cornell.”
When did the idea of playing softball at the collegiate level become a reality? “I started thinking about it last year during travel softball. My coach asked me if I wanted to play in college, and I decided I really wanted to because I love playing.
“I’m so excited play, plus Ithaca went far this year, so I’m looking forward to going far next year.”
Coach Kathleen Houser says: “She’s very quiet and very soft-spoken. She just went out on the mound and did her job. She worked fast, she hit her spots – she was huge for us. It was a shame because she would start for most teams in our league, but playing behind Sarah (McGowan), she knew her role, and she never gave us a problem.”
(Samantha Bender was 6-2 and earned third team all-league honors.)
Samantha Creamer – Cornell (Softball)
Major: Communications (Sports Journalism)
Final list of colleges: Cornell, Yale, Lehigh
Reasons for choosing Cornell: “The softball program, the coaching staff and the academics. It’s just beautiful up there. I met the girls on the team, and I loved them. Everything about it fit for me. Everything clicked.”
When did the idea of playing softball at the collegiate level become a reality? “I always knew I wanted to play when I was younger, but my sophomore year I really got into it. (The recruiting process) was definitely stressful, but it was exciting. I e-mailed Cornell, they showed up, and they stayed interested in me, and it worked out. I got lucky. It’s exciting when a school shows that much interest in you. I love the school, and they liked me. It was a perfect fit.”
Coach Kathleen Houser says: “She has a love of the game, and her arm strength was unreal. Sam started in center field her freshman year, and in her sophomore year, she broke her hand after only two scrimmages. She came back with six games left in the season – surgery and all, but Alexa (Bell) was playing center.
“Coming into their junior year, I said, ‘I can’t slate one of you as the centerfielder. In our eyes, through everything we’ve seen, I can’t do it, so we’re going to switch you back and forth between center and right.’ When I put them out there for pregame, they did it themselves. It was awesome – no problems. Sam worked hard – she was pretty much self-taught and very coachable.”
Christina Udris – Post University (Softball)
Major: Early Childhood Education
Final list of colleges: Post, Towson, West Chester, Monmouth
Reasons for choosing Post: “When I went there, at first I wasn’t too sure, but I met the coach, and it was just awesome. I loved it. The girls were so nice, and I just felt really comfortable being there. I felt I could go there for four years and actually do well. The fact that Becca (Erb) was going there too also helped.”
How long have you lived with the dream of playing collegiate softball? “I actually looked it up. I wrote in a book in fourth grade – ‘My dream is to get a scholarship to play softball.’ I didn’t even know I wrote that, but I still have the same dream, and I accomplished it.”
Coach Kathleen Houser says: “For her to go down like that (with a torn ACL) in her senior year and for her to be there every single day at practice being that solid force for us – I know it was killing her. She was one of the best players to come through Neshaminy, and she had this lack of confidence in herself, which is hard for everyone to believe, but she doesn’t know how good she really is.
“She started since she was a freshman, and each year, you saw her mature. By her senior year, she finally had that confidence, and losing her was big. Everyone was distraught when we lost her on the first play of our game against Truman.
“Christina is just very smooth on the ball. She read everything. There would be balls we thought were through, and she would come up with them - she was just low on everything and had an eye for it. She’s extremely fast for her size, and she’s just a power hitter – she hit up the middle a lot and right center, which is hard to do for most kids, but she could hit that outside pitch, which the better pitchers will throw.”
Erin Quense – West Chester (Softball)
Final list of colleges: West Chester, East Stroudsburg, Kutztown
Reasons for choosing West Chester: “As soon as I went there, I fell in love with the campus, and when I got to meet all the softball girls, it reassured me that I wanted to go there. I can’t wait to go.”
What was the progression that led to receiving a softball scholarship? “In my sophomore year, my mom said, ‘You need to start looking at colleges now if you’re planning on playing any sports.’ I basically started e-mailing any coach if I thought I would like the school and then narrowed it down in the summer to West Chester and East Stroudsburg.”
Coach Kathleen Houser says: “Erin didn’t try out her freshman because she wanted to play ninth grade, but after seeing her come up as a sophomore, we were like, ‘Oh my god, where were you?’ Last year, she stepped in and played first base for us because we had (catcher) Jackie (Franzen) who was a senior. This year behind the plate, she threw everyone out, picked kids off and blocked everything. She was just huge. Interestingly enough, when they were in middle school, Erin pitched and Sarah McGowan caught her.
“Erin was big as our three hitter, and she was a leader behind the plate.”
Brittany Guidos – Franklin & Marshall (Softball)
Major: Biology (Pre-med)
Final list of colleges: Franklin & Marshall, Oberlin
Reasons for choosing Franklin & Marshall: “I like Lancaster – I love the country, and I love the Amish. I really do. I actually never heard of the school until the softball coach e-mailed me. I found out about the school, and I let them know I was considering it because it’s such a great school.”
When did you start thinking about the possibility of playing softball at the collegiate level? “My whole life. It was one of my dreams to play in college. It’s like a dream - one of my life goals is now complete.”
Coach Kathleen Houser says: “Brittany has the biggest heart on our team and would run through a wall if you asked her to. She was one of the hardest workers on the team. She would ask for extra help, and she was the one – ‘I will do anything to get on the field. What am I doing wrong?’ She just wanted to play more than anything. She did what she was supposed to do, and she really loved the game.”
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