The 2018 softball season saw many first for the second year program. First season for new Head Coach Jason Kern, first PSUAC All-Academic All-Conference players selected as Junior Koren McCullough and Sophomore Samantha Satterlee were named. First PSUAC All-Conference players selected as Adrianna Terwilliger and Laura Fatula were named to the First Team and Cierra O'Shell was named to the Second Team. First time playing on the new Rose & Dennis Heindl Memorial Field at City Park, which is a state of the art facility that will host the Small College World Series for two years. The biggest accomplishment happened on April 10, 2018, the program's first victory, a 13-5 victory at Penn State New Kensington.
Offensively, the team was led by Junior Adrianna Terwilliger and Freshman Laura Fatula. Terwilliger finished third in the PSUAC with a .526 batting average and second in the PSUAC with 7 home runs. Fatula finished seventh in the PSUAC with a .500 batting average, led the team in hits with 32, led the team in RBI's with 24, tied Terwilliger for the team lead with 24 runs scored and led the team in stolen bases with 7.
Defensively, the team was led by Junior Melody Young and Freshmen Cierra O'Shell and Autumn Shaffer. Young was the team's utility player, starting many different positions yet never committing an error the entire season. O'Shell was the anchor in the outfield as the center fielder was able to use her speed to track down many fly balls that appeared to be hits off the bat. Shaffer may have been the most valuable defensive player despite the stats not reflecting that accomplishment. Shaffer, who had not pitched since she was 12 years old, started many games in the circle for the Lady Lions after the team lost their only pitcher 2 weeks prior to the start of the season. She only got better as the season progressed and ended the year with five victories.
The Lady Lions ended the season with a 5-17 record and they are focusing on taking the next step next season. Only losing three players, Morgan Uhl(1B), Kyrsten Enseki(RF) and Rachel Schreiber(OF), with six high school seniors and one college transfer committed to joining the program next season already, the future is bright for the program.