Hiram senior Nicole Teefy signed a scholarship to play softball for Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, Nov. 14.

Surrounded by family, friends, coaches and administration, Teefy committed to the Kent State Golden Flashes of the Mid-American Conference.

While Teefy’s college choice is so far away from home, she said she took that into consideration when making her final decision.

“When I went up there I had a lot of fun with the team and that was a big deal for me because if I’m going to go so far from home I’ve got to have a good support system so when I get homesick those girls will be there,” said Teefy.

Teefy has played softball since she was 6 years old and, according to first year head coach Michelle Caldwell, she has worked very hard for this opportunity.

“She was a four-year starter here at Hiram and has worked extremely hard to reach this goal of playing Division I softball. She works year round on her game and has done all of the little things to continually improve herself as a softball player,” said Caldwell.

Her freshman year, Teefy began playing at the right field position, but moved quickly to catcher after the original catcher was injured three games into the year. Teefy has been a catcher ever since.

As a four-year starter, Teefy was made a team leader as she was voted captain and Caldwell said she couldn’t have asked for a better senior leader.

During her senior year, Teefy had seven doubles, one home run, 11 assists, 130 putouts, 19 RBIs, a .463 batting average and a .972 fielding percentage in helping lead the team to a 19-10 record. Teefy was also named the team’s MVP and was selected to the First Team All Region 5-AAAAA.

With so many memories collected over these four years, Teefy had the most memorable moment of her senior year on her very own senior night as she hit a homerun on Hiram’s home field.

“I had never hit one out on our home field and finally my senior year, my last home game, I hit it out,” Teefy said.

Now that she has finished her high school softball career and prepares for the next level of play, Teefy said she would advise her younger teammates not to take the time for granted as it has flown by for her.

“She is not only an outstanding athlete, but a great leader, teammate and friend. There is no doubt she will do great things [not only] at Kent State, but in her life after softball as well. We will miss her tremendously,” said Caldwell.