Punxsy grad soaking up every moment, growing with PSU

UNIVERSITY PARK — After a pandemic-shortened 2020 season, things were back to normal in a number of ways for the Penn State softball team and Punxsy product Kylee Lingenfelter, who recently completed her junior season as a pitcher for the Nittany Lions.

Of course, there were also still plenty of things that were different about this past season, including numerous protocols in place, but the season — Penn State’s first under new head coach Clarisa Crowell — went off with no major issues reported.

“It was great to get back out there, and everyone was so eager to get out and play again after having our season taken away from us (in 2020),” Lingenfelter, a 2018 Punxsy grad, said in a recent interview. “We were all working hard from Day 1, because we just wanted to get out and play, and I remember our first games in Florida we were very excited to get out and play in the nice weather and everything.

“Then, getting to play at our home field was just awesome, because about half the girls on our team hadn’t played at home yet because our season was canceled before the freshmen could even play at home last year, so we were all eager to get back out there and play together with and for each other.”

There were lessons for many of us amid the pandemic, and Lingenfelter said one thing she learned was that she shouldn’t take anything for granted — even something that feels as solidified as a softball season.

“You never know when it’s going to be over,” she said. “Obviously, we were able to play this year, but we still knew it could be over before we knew it. Our motto this year was ‘leave it all out on the field,’ because last year got canceled and we never knew when we’d have to miss a game because of COVID or something crazy would happen. So we were just playing for each other and leaving it all out there, working together to be the best that we could be.”

One thing that didn’t go as the Nittany Lions would have planned this season, especially early on, was the result on the scoreboard, as the team lost its first 15 games before picking up a win and went on to finish with a 7-34 record. Still, with so many variables given the pandemic-shortened season before it, the team turned in a strong finish in many ways — including a big season-ending Big Ten Conference win against the 23rd-ranked team in the country, Minnesota.

“Obviously, we didn’t have the season we wanted to in terms of our record,” Lingenfelter said. “At the beginning, we were all ready to play, but when we weren’t winning it was a little frustrating. We did some team bonding and talked about playing for each other and having fun. Not having fun and losing both stink, so we took initiative to go in on our off days and do extra to grow and to worry about the little things, because they make a difference. We tried to focus on them and do what we could to make ourselves better and as a team.”

Coach Crowell said: “Our record is not indicative of how good of a team

we were this year, and the one thing I’m most proud of with our student athletes, and I’ve said this all year, is that they came out every single day and competed to the very last out. They never gave up.

“Unfortunately, we didn’t get the results we wanted from an overall standpoint, but I was really happy and proud of our team to find a way to win that last game. It was a huge win to beat 23rd-ranked Minnesota. I thought our kids showed a lot of fight this year, a lot of grit, and it’s definitely great momentum going into next year having beaten Minnesota in that last game.”

In addition to that big win against Minnesota to end the season, Lingenfelter cited another growing point for the team and its chemistry as the team’s first win — a 7-5, extra-inning victory over Nebraska on March 28.

“Even someone who didn’t get to play, we were all so happy for each other and how we performed that game,” she said. “It was awesome to see that, and even if we weren’t lucky enough to get in, we were happy for the team. And then, in our last game against Minnesota, we just wanted to go out and have fun. We weren’t expected to win, and there was no pressure on us, so we could just go out and play like us, and we won that game too. Those were good growing points for us this year.”

Lingenfelter was the winning pitcher in two of Penn State’s seven total wins, earning her first on April 9 against Rutgers and her second at Michigan State on May 11 in a contest in which she allowed two runs on six hits and a walk in 6-1/3 innings of work. Overall, she finished with a 2-12 mark and an earned run average of 4.22. In 63 innings of work, she struck out 39, walked 18 and allowed 81 hits.

From the time she was a Little Leaguer in Punxsutawney, Lingenfelter has been putting in the hard work that it takes to advance to the Division I level. That dedication paid off, and she was able to reach her goal. Now, she’s playing in the big spotlight at Penn State — an achievement that would make any small town proud of one of its own.

“It’s pretty awesome, and it’s everything I imagined plus more,” she said. “It’s so great to represent such a big school, and the atmosphere for any sports game here is unreal. It’s just great that I get to play the sport I love at the place I love with a great family surrounding me — my teammates, coaches and everyone who’s supporting us.”

Crowell said: “Kylee has been great. First off, she’s just a good person. She’s a great teammate and comes out and works hard every day, and as you all know, she’s not maybe the most vocal, but she is still competitive. She really stepped up for us this year and did some great things in the circle, and I was just really pleased with her performance throughout the year.

“She’s just been great for our program and has been a big part of it … It starts with hard work. Talent can only take you so far, and you have to be a workhorse. We preach all the time blue collar and working hard, and Kylee is definitely that kid who comes out and works hard in practice.”

Playing any sport at the top collegiate level is challenging in more ways than one encounters on the field, and Lingenfelter said she’s learned over her first three seasons how to manage some of those things and make the most of her time and her energy. She’s also seen some growth in herself, both as an athlete and as a student and a person.

“I definitely think I’ve come out of my shell more from freshman year. That year, I was more timid, but as I’ve grown with the game, the team and the coaches, I’ve grown more confident and feel more in control of myself,” she said. “Just growing a bigger relationship with other players has helped me connect with them and be able to talk things through during the game or call a timeout whenever we need to and be like, ‘We’re fine. Relax. We’ve got this.’ It’s definitely helped me grow and be more confident in myself and in my team and just in feeling less timid.”

One thing she’s realized, she said, is that time is limited no matter what you’re doing, so managing it is an important skill to obtain. “I had to learn a lot of time management my freshman year, because it’s a lot if you don’t have a schedule or winging it,” she said. “So it’s about planning out when to meet with your teachers, when to do your homework and when to sleep, honestly.”

With the Nittany Lions’ season having ended on May 16, Lingenfelter is now more than a month into her offseason. But that certainly doesn’t mean that she isn’t still working. While she’s dedicating energy to her internship in sales and marketing with the MLB Draft League’s State College Spikes, she’s also balancing a routine to stay in shape and build strength for next season.

“Right now, I’m working out three days a week, pitching three days a week, trying to get stronger and focusing on the physical aspect of it,” she said. “I’m also reading things for motivation and watching online videos. This is basically the time for me to get stronger, because when the season comes, I obviously don’t want to be sore. That’s when I’ll focus on pitching five or six days and really hit the ground running.”

Speaking about Lingenfelter’s offseason regimen, Crowell said, “I know Kylee has a summer internship, but I also know she’s putting in the work with her workouts, both with pitching and in the weight room, which really, in the summer, is what’s key. It’s about getting stronger.

“I know Kylee is going to put in the work, and she’s getting better every year. I saw a lot of progress with her this past year, so I’m really excited for her to come back even stronger in her senior season, and I’m excited to see what the future has in store for her.”

Because of the pandemic canceling seasons across the NCAA in 2020, Lingenfelter still has two years of eligibility left despite having recently finished her third, but as she enters her senior season, one thing on the horizon is her future beyond being a collegiate athlete. In that realm, she said, she hopes to stay connected to the world of sports as well.

“I’m majoring in management, but I really want to work in the sports industry on the marketing side of things,” she said. “My internship right now with the Spikes is in sales and marketing. I really like that side of it and promo and things like that, so that’s really what I’m working toward doing.”