Katie Reing
After years of traveling around the area to play home games and hold practices, the Cabrini women’s softball team can now call a field on Valley Forge Military Academy and College’s campus home.
The field was dedicated in a ceremony Thursday afternoon. The ceremony not only celebrated the team’s first home game on the new field, but also the partnership between Cabrini and Valley Forge. Charlie Spencer mastered the ceremony as he graduated from and worked for both schools.
Also speaking were the president of VFMA&C, Rear Admiral A.C. Long, and Dr. Jonnie Guerra was on hand to speak for President Iadorola who was unable to attend the event. The team’s coach, Karen Pelkey, also had a few thank-yous to give out to the crowd, she thanked the two colleges for their cooperation and she also let the team know how much their patience and persistence meant to her.
The ceremony ended with a ribbon cutting between the administrators of both schools. Dzik threw out the first pitch following the event to start off the softball team’s first official home game. “It’s satisfying to have a very good softball team and to have a nice field for them to play on. It’s an improvement for Cabrini Athletics,” Dzik said.
“It’s about time. We worked so hard for how many years and it’s just now done,” Megan Johnston, senior, said. Even the freshmen on the team realized the need for the field, though they had not been with out it for very long. “It’s nice that we finally have a place to play, but that’s more for the juniors and seniors. We didn’t have to go through what they did, going all over the place to practice. Having the field promised and it not coming through,” Lindsay Ferocco said.
The team went on to win both games in the doubleheader following the festivities. The women were able to break Eastern’s pitching with scores of 8-0 and 11-0, respectively. The team has been getting better with every game, and though they are not nationally ranked right now the team is looking good for the rest of the season. “It looks like we can go father then last year right now, hopefully win the PAC and we’ll see what happens in the regionals,” Brooke Peterdozzi, sophomore, said.
The team has been hitting and scoring runs, as a team. “It’s not an individual effort, we are really playing well as a team,” Jackson said. The remainder of the season will be played out with the hope of winning their third straight PAC championship, and with a new home field advantage.
