On Thursday, Nov. 10, 2016, North Penn senior Bri Battavio was recognized for committing to continue her softball career at Monmouth University. To view photos of the event, please visit the Photo Gallery.
Bri Battavio – Monmouth University (Softball)
Major: Early Education
Final list of colleges: Monmouth, Moravian, UMBC
Reasons for choosing Monmouth: “As soon as I stepped on campus, it felt like a perfect fit for me. All the girls were awesome, and the coach was amazing, and it felt like home.”
What was the progression that led you to competing in softball at the collegiate level? “I knew since I was very young that I wanted to play softball in college.
“My high school experience with softball was awesome. We put on a huge show for everybody who comes to the games, and I think it’s going to help a lot when I get to college.”
Coach Rick Torresani says: “I met Bri when she came up as a ninth grader. She said she was a pitcher. She’s 5-foot nothing, and she told me she was going to be my pitcher. Of course, we had Jackie Bilotti who pitched for four years and was probably one of the greatest pitchers at North Penn. I told Bri she was going to have to wait her turn. As a sophomore, she played third base for us. We won the Continental Conference, and she was one of our leading hitters - our leading RBI and home run hitter. She improved and wanted to pitch so bad that between her sophomore and junior year she went from throwing 56-57 miles an hour to 63-64. When you talk about baseball, that’s going from 80 to 90-92.
“She worked so hard in the weight room, with her pitching coach during the winter months, and last year she was unbelievable. She had three shutouts, she won a district game 1-0 and really carried the team. This year we’re looking for great things from her. If she continues to work as hard as she has been and continues to do what she has done, not only pitching but hitting, she could probably be one of the best pitchers in the area, if not the state. I think that’s her goal. Also, usually pitchers only pitch, but Bri does not do that. She hits, and she hits awesome. This past summer in an AAU Gold Tournament, she played five games against some quality pitching, and in those five games, she hit six home runs and had 21 RBIs, which is just unbelievable. Monmouth is getting a great player and a great pitcher.”
About Bri:
Favorite food: Pasta
Favorite movie: White Chicks
Favorite music: Drake
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