School: Abington
Softball
Favorite athlete: Greg Dobbs/Jeff Carter
Favorite team: The Philadelphia Phillies and the Philadelphia Flyers
Favorite memory competing in sports: “Going 13 innings at North Penn and pulling out the victory”
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: “This year during our scrimmage against Upper Moreland, our number three batter came up and hit a shot to center field. She rounded first and was running to second, and all of a sudden she tripped over her feet and ‘dove’ head first into second base. She got up and continued on to third, keeping herself from getting a home run; she did it again in a later at bat!”
Music on iPod: “Anything and everything! It ranges from Avenged Sevenfold to Taylor Swift and from Steve Miller Band to Lil’ Wayne.”
Future plans: “Study Political Science and play softball at East Stroudsburg University and end up doing some kind of police work.”
Words to live by: “However long the night, the dawn will break.”
One goal before turning 30: “Get married”
One thing people don’t know about me: “I’m lactose intolerant, but I ignore the fact that I’m not supposed to eat dairy!”
Tegan Wendell ‘took one for the team.’
A natural shortstop, the Abington senior was approached by coach Ellie White after her sophomore year about her willingness to take over the mound duties the following season.
“I had no one to pitch,” White said. “Courtney (Smith) was graduating, and I went to Tegan and said, ‘Unless you want to have a bad junior and senior year, you have to step up.’
“She said, ‘Coach, I’ll do whatever it takes.’ She took the ball last year, and for the first time pitching competitively, she had a great season. Along with that, she batted fourth and received all-league honors. She’s one of those kids who will do whatever it takes.”
Wendell still considers herself a shortstop, although she can play just about every infield position, and it is her versatility that undoubtedly caught the eye East Stroudsburg coach Jill Fuduric.
“We sent a video, and the coach loved her,” White said. “She offered her a scholarship to come up there and play and not even as a pitcher but as a middle infielder and maybe be a number two pitcher there.”
The Abington senior accepted ESU’s scholarship offer, and she admits playing softball at the collegiate level is a dream come true.
“I don’t think I could not play,” Wendell said. “I just want to further my career in softball.
“Wherever she needs me, I’ll play. It’s so exciting. It was a weight lifted off my shoulders. I couldn’t believe I was going to college, playing softball and doing what I want to do. It’s always been a dream to play at college.”
Wendell grew up with a baseball in her hand, and she was one of two girls on her little league team when she was six years old. She began playing softball at the age of eight but continued to play baseball at the Phillies Baseball Academy.
Although Wendell has long since given up playing baseball, she is now employed summers at the Phillies Baseball Academy, and after serving as a production assistant for the past several years, she will be working as a coach this summer.
“I’m really excited to start working with the kids and hopefully further my coaching career,” she said.
And where did Wendell acquire her passion for baseball and softball?
“It was something that came easy to me – easier than soccer or basketball,” she said. “I always loved watching the Phillies. My family would take trips to watch games.
“We also went to hockey games, but I was always drawn to baseball.”
Wendell actually got her first taste of life on the mound when she was 10 years old, but she opted to give it up as she moved through the ranks.
“As I got older, there was too much pressure on me, and I didn’t like that,” she said.
By the time she was in ninth grade, Wendell had given up soccer and basketball to focus on softball. She earned a spot on the varsity but not at the spot she expected - first base.
“I asked her if she wanted to play shortstop, and she said, ‘No’ but did it anyway,” White said. “That’s when I knew we were going to have a good relationship, and I knew she was going to do whatever she could for the good of the team.”
“I had played shortstop once or twice in tournaments and really liked it,” Wendell said. “It was like, ‘You know what – I’ll try it.
“She started training me there, and it worked out.”
For two years, Wendell anchored the infield. Then came the call to go back on the mound.
“I was a little hesitant to say ‘I’ll take this on,’ but in the end, I knew if we wanted to have a good season, if we wanted to compete with other teams, I had to get on the mound,” she said. “I took one for the team.”
And White is eternally grateful.
“I don’t think she’ll ever admit she enjoys it, but I think a part of her is so happy she’s competing,” the Ghosts’ coach said. “If she really wanted to, she’s so athletic, she could pitch in college.
“She’s not the kind of kid that likes to be in the spotlight, and I think that’s a big part of it. She doesn’t want the recognition. She’d rather sit back at shortstop and do what she needs to do than be on the mound and in front of everybody.”
Wendell played summer softball for the Abington Angels until she was 16 and last summer played for a women’s team. This summer she will play for the Banshees, and she admits she got a late start in the whole collegiate search process.
“One day I went up to the coach and said, ‘I want to make a video of my skills,’” Wendell recalled. “We got that together and sent it to a couple of schools.”
She heard back from several, including Coastal Carolina.
“They wanted her to sign immediately,” White said.
“They didn’t have my major,” said Wendell, who was looking to major in criminal justice. “I was thinking ‘Where can I go?’ It was getting late.
“I came up to coach and said, ‘What about East Stroudsburg? Let’s make it happen.’ We sent out a video, got an e-mail saying ‘We’d like to have you come for a visit.’ Coach put in a good word for me, and it just fell into place.”
Wendell visited the school in February.
“I met the coach, saw how she coached,” she said. “The girls were so nice to me.
“Everything felt so right. I just loved it.”
Signed, sealed and delivered to ESU, Wendell will major in political science with a minor in criminal justice. She has her sights firmly set on one day doing police work.
“Any kind of police work would be great,” she said. “If I’m not patrolling streets and doing that kind of stuff, being behind a desk is fine.
“I watched CSI and C.O.P.S. and that kind of stuff. I have an uncle who’s a police officer. I’ve always been interested in police work.”
For now, Wendell is focusing her energy on her final high school softball season.
“She’s a leader,” White said. “Kids look up to her. She’s just one of those kids that other kids follow.
“It’s going to be hard when she goes. You rarely ever get a kid like Tegan. This is why I coach at the high school level. Just to see that type of kid get to where she’s gotten to – that’s why I’m here.
“She’s going to be a big loss when she’s gone, but it’s nice to have her around for now.”
