DENVER — Brie Berkopec is spending her summer in the shadows of the Rocky Mountains.

The Mars graduate and sophomore catcher at Denison College spent her spring on a Rocky Mountain high.

"When I was a senior and we won the WPIAL championship, I thought that was the greatest feeling ever," Berkopec said. "Then this year happened. I don't know how anything will top it. But I'm going to try."

It may be a tough task considering the gaudy numbers Berkopec put up in her first season and a full-time player for the Big Red.

She hit .405 — becoming only the sixth player in school history to hit over .400 in a season — with six home runs, 34 RBI and 49 hits. She topped the team in five offensive categories.

As enjoyable as her individual success was, the team's success made Berkopec beam even more.

Denison finished the season 28-12, won the NCAC championship and upset a nationally ranked Muskingum College team in the first round of the NCAA Division III Regional.

"It was the farthest a Denison team had ever gone," Berkopec said. "We hadn't beaten Muskingum in 12 years. When we beat them 3-2 and that last pitch hit my mitt, it was incredible."

Denison lost to Muskingum twice later in the regional, 14-1 and 3-2. The second loss kept the Big Red from a trip to the College World Series.

Berkopec hit a long drive with a runner on base in the sixth inning that just drifted foul in the deciding game.

"That was a heartbreaker," she said.

But it wasn't nearly as heartbreaking as spending most of her freshman season stuck on the bench.

Berkopec's dismay with her situation got so bad at one point that she pondered leaving the team.

"I felt like, even as a freshman, I could play every day," Berkopec said. "It was very discouraging and frustrating. I never really seriously considered quitting, but at the same time, the thought was there."

A coaching change was just the thing Berkopec needed.

Holly Bruder, who had spent five years leading the BigRed, stepped down before the 2007 season. Replacing her was Tiffany Ozbun, who spent the bulk of her coaching career as a pitching and catching guru.

Berkopec spent the early part of her sophomore season as a designated hitter. While she was happy to get her name in the lineup, she was still disappointed that she was not behind the plate.

"I'm a catcher at heart. Born and bred," Berkopec said.

She got her chance to catch in the second game of a doubleheader midway through the season. She never left the position again.

"Coach (Ozbun) liked the way I handled myself behind the plate," Berkopec said.

Once she had a position to play again, her numbers soared at the plate.

"I hit better when I'm playing the field," Berkopec said.

Now Berkopec is a cornerstone of a lineup that loses six seniors, but has a slew of underclassmen talent returning.

Her workout regime begins soon. She will juggle her offseason conditioning with her sports management internship in Denver.

She still finds ways to play softball, even with the Rocky Mountains as her backdrop.

"I work in an office full of guys," Berkopec said. "And I have a couple of cousins who live nearby, so I throw with them a lot."

Berkopec said she has to work harder this offseason because she will no longer sneak up on the competition.

When she returns to the field next spring, everyone will know her name.

"It's probably going to be a little harder," Berkopec said. "But that's OK. I do my best when I don't think too much. I'll just go up there and play."

Denison figures to be strong again next spring. The Big Red do lose six seniors, but have a slew of talent returning, including Berkopec.

It has the Mars grad thinking big things in 2009. It also has her reflecting on how far she has come in one year.

"It taught me how to be patient," Berkopec said. "I always said patience is a virtue I was not blessed with. It totally made me appreciate my spot and my team even more."