When she was young, Hannah Edwards dreamed of playing basketball at the University of Tennessee for legendary coach Pat Summitt, who passed away this week.
After realizing she would be 5-foot-3, the recent Catasauqua graduate turned her attention to field hockey and softball.
Although she says field hockey came more naturally to her and that she initially leaned toward pursuing a Division-I career in that sport, lots of D-I interest from softball teams her freshman year made her choice clear.
Six state records later and it's safe to say Edwards made the right decision playing softball.
The center fielder's state records were career hits (207), runs (158), stolen bases (192) and single-season records in hits (57), runs (45) and stolen bases (57).
The modest Edwards says others were a big a part of her finding so much success on the softball field.
"It's not just me that can get credit for any of that," Edwards said. "It's definitely my coaches, my teammates, my family, my friends, my teachers. They've all molded me into the athlete and the person I am today. They've helped me along the way to get me to this point."
The Rough Rider hit .680, scored a state-record 45 runs, had 52 stolen bases, a .739 on-base percentage, 13 RBIs and led her team to a program-record 19 wins this season.
For her sensational season to finish her record-breaking career, Edwards is the 2016 lehighvalleylive Softball Player of the Year.
"I loved playing softball for Catty," Edwards said. "The town is very supportive with their sports teams. When we play in games, everybody would come and be in the stands. Our home games, our stands were packed. We just had so much support just because of that small-town atmosphere. Even when we went to Pates (Park), those stands were packed. It definitely shows something about our town."
Edwards will continue her softball career at the University of Pittsburgh. She plans to study rehabilitation sciences. The former Rough Rider can't wait to give big city life a try.
"It's such a sports town and there's just so much to do. They have so many connections, whether it be the Steelers, the Penguins. I just really love that atmosphere," Edwards said. "And just the fact that I've always been a small-town girl. So I think that going to a big city, it's definitely going to be a new thing for me. But I think it's a cool transition. It's out of my comfort zone but that's what I'm really excited for. Meeting a bunch of new people. Because at Catty, everybody knows everyone. They know your family name, everything. So when I go out there, there's going to be a diverse group of people that I'll get to meet. I think that will just be a cool experience."
"I think Pitt is getting a wonderful student, great person and a fantastic softball player," Catasauqua coach Bobby Thomas said. "I fully expect her to succeed at Pitt. She has never given me a reason to think differently."
Edwards, whose brother Zac plays second base on the Lebanon Valley College baseball team, is spending her summers playing in regional and national tournaments with her travel team Chaos Gold, which is based out of Delaware County.
The former Rough Rider will then play in the Premeir Girls Fastpitch High School All-American Game on July 28 in Irvine, California. The game features 36 of the best players in the country and Edwards is one of the two Pennsylvania players in the contest. It will air on ESPNU at 10:30 p.m. July 28.
Before she heads to California and then Pittsburgh, the slap-hitting Edwards reflected on her final season at Catty, which featured a trip to the Colonial League final and the top seed in District 11 Class AA tournament. The Rough Riders won a program-record 19 games on the season. Not bad, especially considering how things were looking for the Rough Riders before the spring.
"When the first practice started, we had about eight girls. I wasn't really sure. I was like, 'wow, am I going to play softball for Catty? Are we even going to have a team? Where am I going to go? What's going to happen?,'" Edwards said. "But then luckily enough we went into the hallways and just started talking to people and getting people out for the team. I think we had a consistent amount of 11, 12 girls after we tried to talk to people. Personally, I'm just really proud of where our team went and how we played and how we competed and the record we had. Just based on the number of girls and the fact that we almost didn't have a team. I think definitely this season I'm just really proud of everyone."
A big moment for Catty this season was a 3-1 win over Eastern Pennsylvania Conference power Whitehall on April 30. That was part of an eight-game winning streak for the Rough Riders.
"I think the Whitehall game was definitely a turning point for our team," Edwards said. "Because we went in there and we weren't really afraid of the EPC team. We didn't really have anything that we were apprehensive about. We kind of just went out there and played our hardest. It just showed when you step in between those two lines, it doesn't matter what you have written across your chest. You're just going out there, playing softball and we ended up coming out on top. So I think that was the game that kind of opened up not only our eyes but also the press' eyes. Like, 'whoa, Catty might make some noise this year.'"
What makes Edwards' huge stats even more impressive is the fact that she has only been slap-hitting for the last four seasons.
"I started slapping once I got onto an 18-U gold team. It was called Lower South Liberty. It was out of Philadelphia. The winter of my freshman year," Edwards said. "Before that, I was just hitting away left-handed and bunt and that type of thing, like a normal lefty hitter. Then I got there and they're like, 'we're going to make you into a slapper.' So I actually learned the techniques of soft slapping right before my freshman year of high school."
Edwards says she put up some power numbers early in her softball career but she is willing to sacrifice that for the good of the team.
"As long as I'm getting on base and scoring runs, I think that's the most important thing," Edwards said. "To be a successful softball player, it's very important to know your role and do your job for your team. If you try do too much or try to be a player that you're stepping outside your role and you're not fulfilling that role for your team, that's when I don't think you're really going to be successful at all. But if you know your role and you commit to it and you do it wholeheartedly, that's when you're going to be successful."
An unselfish attitude her coach became very familiar with.
"She was very important to the program obviously with her talent level and how productive she was, but she also was very supportive of the other players on the team," Thomas said. "With all the accolades she received, she never put herself above the team. It was always team first."
Josh Folck may be reached at jfolck@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoshFolck. Find Lehigh Valley high school sports on Facebook.
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