Souderton senior Jess Lepore was recognized for committing to continue her softball career at Penn State Hazleton.
Jess Lepore – Penn State Hazleton (Softball)
Major: Psychology with a minor in Sociology
Final list of colleges: Penn State Hazleton, Widener
Reasons for choosing Penn State Hazleton: “I really love the campus, and I really love that I’m going to have the opportunity to do the 2+2, so I can do my first two years at Hazleton and then go get my degree from Penn State main campus.”
What was the progression that led you to playing softball at the collegiate level? “I played softball in Florida in front of D1 coaches as a 12-year-old, so I started really early. I didn’t really want to go D1 because I wanted to be able to focus on academics and I wanted to be able to make a career for myself, not just go to a school that said, ‘Our softball team is great – come over here.’ It was between D2 and D3. I didn’t really care. I just wanted to find a school for me.”
Coach Carol Atkinson says: “I have coached Jess since she started playing softball in seventh grade. She used to be a boys’ baseball player but came to play softball in seventh grade when I coached at Indian Crest, so it was nice to have her and watch her graduate this year. She’s probably one of the best shortstops you’ll ever see. She’s like a vacuum cleaner out there. She’s a base hitter, and she’s got a lot of speed behind her. She took everything to heart, so if she got down, she got down but she was always able to boost herself back up. It was nice to be able to coach her.”
Former coach Liz Parkins says: “Jess made varsity as a freshman and started all three years for me and would have started all four in her career. She could be put anywhere on the field. Jess caught her freshman year and the last two years we had her at shortstop. If we needed her in the outfield, I’m sure she would have gone there. Jess led more by example. She was a really smart player, always knew the situation. She came up clutch. My favorite memory of Jess was last year when we were playing Bensalem in the district playoffs, and she hit a triple in the eighth to drive in the go-ahead run. Jess could always lay a bunt down whenever we needed her to, whether it was a sacrifice bunt or a bunt for a hit. She was always really going all-out, making diving plays and doing whatever she could to get the out or the clutch hit. She’s a great kid and a great player and was really good for our program.”
About Jess:
Favorite food: Candy
Favorite movie: The Sandlot
Favorite artist: DaBaby
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