Seven seniors hung up their sweat-soaked cleats satisfied, still dusty from their historic season. For the first time in program history, the Flyers softball team won the A-10 championship and secured an NCAA tournament bid.
Winning the championship was the goal for the five fifth-year players. Their freshman season was stunted by the pandemic, so these seniors chose to take an extra year of eligibility, concluding their final season with a 33-21 overall record.
The Flyers secured a first-round bye in the A-10 tournament. They then bested UMass 13-3 in the quarterfinals, handed Loyola a 2-0 loss in the semis, and defeated Saint Louis 3-0 to become champions.
Fifth-year pitcher Sarah Bailitz from Arlington Heights, Illinois, had a career day, posting nine strikeouts in the final game of the tournament. “No one was ready for the season to end,” Bailitz said. “Especially as fifth-years — this [was] the end of the road. When we got those trophies, I couldn't stop smiling.”
Although the Flyers came up short in their NCAA tournament games — 0-3 Tennessee; 0-4, Miami (Ohio) — head coach Cara Clark summed up the historic season with one word: validation. Clark said she’s coached others teams capable of winning the A-10 tournament during her 17 years at UD, but she was excited for this veteran group to take that final step. Clark said she commended the senior class for overcoming the obstacles created by the pandemic.
Katie Reeg, a fifth-year from Overland Park, Kansas, said she reflects on those seniors she played with her freshman year whose final season was impacted by the pandemic: “It feels like we’re carrying that torch for them and all the alumni that have been working for this in the history of the program.”
Bailitz said this season was the “perfect long goodbye to the sport.” Now, these graduates are excited to see the program continue what they have started.
Alayna Yates, a fifth-year member of the Flyer volleyball team, received a 2024 RUDY Award for student-athlete excellence. A student writer for UD Magazine, she will serve as the 2024-25 president of the UD Student-Athlete Advisory Council.