The next chapter
BUFFALO TWP — Kristie Radvan was overcome by emotion Wednesday as she signed her name to her national letter of intent.
“It was definitely emotional,” said the Freeport senior two-sport star. She signed her letter to attend the University of Pittsburgh Johnstown to play softball. “It was finally seeing my dream of playing in college come true. It was also realization that I'm going to graduate from high school soon and start the new chapter in my life and play Division II softball.”
Radvan was highly sought after following a junior season in which she batted .482 with eight home runs.
She was also 12-5 as a pitcher for Freeport with a 3.65 ERA and 81 strikeouts in 92 innings.
Schools such as Seton Hill University, Wheeling Jesuit University, Pitt-Bradford and Pitt-Greensburg were also interested in Radvan, who will start out as a pitcher for UPJ, but is likely to move to a different position.
Radvan doesn't care where she plays and she is certain she can make a quick contribution at the next level.
“It's all about confidence at this point,” Radvan said. “I've played so many games and have had so many at-bats that it's all mental now. The muscles know what to do.”
Radvan is also a standout volleyball player and helped Freeport win back-to-back WPIAL Class AA titles and three in four years.
Softball, though, was always her main focus.
“Volleyball I feel helped me, honestly, to be a better athlete,” Radvan said. “It helped with conditioning and strength. I described it as my “fun” sport, but for all my life I played both and I loved both.”
Radvan never seriously considered trying to play both sports in college.
She said she would try to still dabble in volleyball as an intramural sport.
Radvan will soon be back into training for her senior season on the Freeport softball team.
The Yellowjackets went 13-5 last season, losing to South Park in the WPIAL quarterfinals.
A big bulk of that team returns and will be boosted even more by a freshman addition that is familiar to Radvan.
Her sister, Tori.
“She's a tri-athlete,” Kristie Radvan said of her sister. “She does volleyball, softball and basketball, too. She's just a natural athlete.
“I'm very excited to play with her,” she added. “We played together on the volleyball team this year and she got better every single day. I broke down in our last game together because it was our first and last year playing together.”
Radvan is also excited about the softball team's prospects this season.
Several volleyball players are also softball players and they would like nothing more than to bookend their year with WPIAL championships.
“Claire (Crytzer) and I have talked about it on the down-low,” Radvan said. “We're in a really good position to do it. Everyone is coming back.”
