Making the short travel distance from Tinicum, Pa., junior shortstop Samantha Thompson is looking forward to her current softball season. Thompson went to Interboro High School where she played three sports: soccer, softball and ran track and field. Two of those sports, soccer and softball, carried over into her collegiate career.
Thompson happens to hold records at Interboro High School for track and field in the 55 and 60 hurdles and the triple jump. She decided not to run track and field at Cabrini because she wanted to keep her winter break.
Thompson chose Cabrini because she knew she could play soccer and softball here.
“I can’t say one or the other is my favorite, they are tied,” Thompson said. “But right now it is softball season so that’s the mindset I’m in.”
The Lady Cavs are just returning from spring break, which they spent in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The Lady Cavs got off to a slow start in their tournament but ended their trip with a win against York College. The Lady Cavs lost two games against University of Mary Washington, two games against Ohio Northern University and split with York College.
“Sammy stayed up the whole time no matter what the score was and kept us together as a team when it came time to play,” junior third baseman Ryan McDonough said. “It was our first time on dirt this spring so needless to say we did struggle, but you never saw Sammy hang her head and you never will see that from her no matter the situation.”
“Sammy is an amazing player,” Megan Markland from York College said. “There was some balls that I was sure were going to go right by her and they didn’t. She made some great plays.”
Thompson is excited to start the season and has high expectations. The Lady Cavs finished second in the conference last year after suffering a loss to Neumann in the finals.
“I’m ready for a rematch,” Thompson said. “None of the teams in our conference are comparable to the teams we played in Myrtle Beach, we are no where near our full potential yet.”
Aside from softball, Thompson works at the Dixon Center at least five times a week. Her days start at 5:45 a.m. After work, Thompson has class, then softball practice. Her days are constantly non-stop.
“It gets tiring but I’m used to it now,” Thompson said.
In her slim spare time, Thompson likes to hang out with her friends that “live down the hill from her, in apartment 309A.” She also has a pot-belly pig named Ellie that she got last August.
“I kept it from my parents for a while because, well, who owns a pig,” Thompson said. “They love Ellie now though.”
All of Thompson’s teammates, friends and even sister have nothing but good things to say about her. “At games, Sammy is right behind me on the field, so when I’m pitching, her cheering is the main one I hear,” sophomore pitcher Marcelle Crist said. “It keeps me pumped throughout the whole game.”
“She rules,” senior midfielder and former soccer teammate Annmarie Kolla said. Kolla happens to be one of the residents of apartment 309A.
“There is never a dull moment when Sammy is around,” senior goalie and former soccer teammate Gianna Porretta, another resident of 309A, said.
“Sam is one of those sisters where it’s more like a best friend relationship,” sister Brianna Thompson said. “She’s the kind where you know whenever or wherever, you can always count on her to be there.”
