ARCANUM – Arcanum senior Kaitlyn Zell fell in love with Mount St. Joseph University as soon as she stepped on the campus, and now she’ll get to spend her college years there.
Zell, the daughter of Chuck and Kelly Zell, committed to play college softball for Mount St. Joseph on Tuesday afternoon.
“It’s a great feeling,” she said. “It’s going to be a good experience for me, and I hope to learn a lot from it.”
The welcoming attitude of Mount St. Joseph softball coach Beth Goderwis and the university as a whole was what attracted Zell to the college in Cincinnati.
“The moment I stepped on the campus I just fell in love,” Zell said. “Everyone was so open and nice. And the coach was really nice to me, and she just had a lot of nice things to say.”
Zell, who plans to study athletic training while in college, hopes to earn a starting role for the Lions.
Arcanum assistant softball coach Kelly Kramer said he expects Zell to earn playing time early in her collegiate career because of her strong abilities as an outfielder.
“She has such a cannon, a strong arm, and they’re looking for outfielders down there,” Kramer said. “I expect her to play as a freshman with the power that she has at the plate, the patience, the good eye. She’ll just wait until she gets her pitch.”
Zell was tied for the Arcanum lead in home runs last year while hitting .443 with 31 RBI but what really sets her apart from other players is her defense in the outfield, Kramer said.
“No one will run on her,” Kramer said. “When they see her warming up, no one runs on her. She’s got one of the strongest arms in the league, and I think that’s what’s going to fit the next level for her very well.”
Prior to leaving for college Zell is looking forward to her senior year of high school softball and helping lead the Trojans to another strong season. Last year they won the Cross County Conference championship with a perfect league record.
“I think we’re going to have a great season this year,” she said. “We’ve got a lot of seniors and a lot of leadership on our team. I hope to see great things from us.”
