LYCOMING COLLEGE SUMMER MAGAZINE 2023

“Even though it was my right arm, it still affected my pitching in the season,” she said. “I was not throwing as hard, and I would get fatigued a lot quicker.” Russell lost three of her first five decisions in 2023, but after a five-out save in a 3-1 win over DeSales, she won her next eight games, throwing a four-hit shutout against NCAA Championship participant Lebanon Valley. Even after a loss to Susquehanna, she rebounded with an eight-inning, two-hit shutout of regionally ranked King’s. “King’s was a great team, and I just remember being so anxious and nervous about the game. My teammates were there to pump me up, which is what I think made me throw one of my best games,” Russell said. The left-hander was 7-0 with a save and a 0.42 ERA in conference play, making her the unanimous pick for the MAC Freedom’s Pitcher of the Year. “I am extremely proud of her and her hard work and dedication to softball,” DeWolfe said. “She really inspires me. She is an all-around great person on and off the field.” Morgan Wetzel ’23 Wetzel had been friends with Riley Houser for years. The pair grew up together, eventually playing on the same softball team at Central Mountain High School, along with another Warrior teammate, Madalyn Bechdel ’23.

For both of them, softball came easy. For Wetzel, it had always been second nature. She was hitting .536 when COVID ended her first year with the Warriors in 2020, and she followed that by hitting .423 as a sophomore. In 2022, Houser was going to join Wetzel for the spring semester at Lycoming and play third base for the Warriors. That never came to be. Houser passed away on Jan. 24, the day that the team was supposed to begin practice. “I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel walking back on the field,” Wetzel said. “To have my teammates there, to have Riley’s jersey hanging in the dugout every game, that meant a lot to me and her family. She loved to play sports. She loved to play baseball. I think it’s awesome that her memory is going to live on here. I am glad I had the teammates I had when I was here, because I don’t know if I would have done it without them.” It’s hard to say that hitting .340 is struggling, but Wetzel’s junior year came with more struggles than any before that. “In the beginning, softball wasn’t the same for me,” she admitted. “I went with the mentality of doing it for Riley instead of thinking about doing it with her this year. I am really happy that we made it to the conference championship. In a sense, we did that for her.” Wetzel became the second Warrior to notch 50 hits in a season and was in the top 10 in seven statistical categories, and she broke three school records in 2023. “I was beyond excited to see Morgan have an amazing senior season,” Russell said. “With all that she went through last year, she deserved a season full of happiness and breaking records.”

22 LYCOMING COLLEGE 2023 SUMMER MAGAZINE