On Tuesday, May 24, 2011, Quakertown senior Justyna Pepkowski was recognized at a special news conference for signing a letter of intent to play softball at Elizabethtown College.
Justyna Pepkowski – Elizabethtown College (Softball)
Major: Mathematics/Secondary EducationFinal list of colleges: Elizabethtown, Gwynedd-Mercy
Reasons for choosing Elizabethtown: “When I walked onto the campus, it just felt like home right away. I just knew as soon as I walked on, that’s where I wanted to go. Everyone was so friendly, and I like where it was located – in the Lancaster area – and the countryside.”
What was the progression that led you to playing collegiate softball? “I started travel ball when I was 14, and that’s when I first started watching softball a lot on TV, and that’s when I realized how much I enjoyed it and how much I wanted to keep playing. Ever since then, I’ve always wanted to play.
“When I first started (the recruiting process), I made a video for softball, and then I looked into the school. One of our teachers went to Elizabethtown, and she loved it. I looked at it, and I really liked it, so I contacted the coach. She came out and watched me play, and we kept in contact, and she invited me to come and play there. I’m really excited. I’m just so relieved because I was so nervous. I’m just happy that I’m going to continue playing because it’s something I really love to do.”
Coach Rich Scott says: “Justyna worked hard every day. In the offseason, she went to her pitching coach weekly and sometimes twice a week, and she continued to work hard throughout the season.
“Every day we knew she was going to give us 100 percent. There were one or two games where she was sick, and she still did not complain, did not say anything even until afterwards. When she was on the mound, she gave you her best effort, and we knew we were going to be in the game, if not win the game.
“She has a couple of different pitches – she has the fastball, screwball, drop and rise, and she worked hard every day at those pitches. Movement is key in high school softball. A lot of people think it’s speed, but speed isn’t everything. The ball has to move.
“We will miss her tremendously. A couple of pitchers we have coming up for next year will have to work hard to fill her shoes.”
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