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Sports

A Barnegat High School Senior To Play Softball for Villanova

Stephanie Butler of Barnegat: "Softball is who I am."

When Stephanie Butler, a senior in Barnegat High School, was asked at what age she started to play softball, she hesitated. It wasn't that she couldn't remember when she first played, she said. It was because she couldn't remember ever not playing.

"Softball is who I am," Butler said. "My friends, if they were to describe me, they'd be like, 'plays softball.'"

Her passion for the sport Butler, 18, to a big milestone. Villanova University, a small Catholic univeristy in Pennsylvania, recruited Butler to play softball for Villanova Wildcats.

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Growing up in a family of athletes, Butler took to the sport easily and soon became a natural.

"I just love being out there, on the dirt, it’s like a second home," she said.

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"Stephanie definitely has the natural talent," said Laura Miller, Butler's Barnegat High School coach. "She has very smooth fielding skills, her arm is very strong, and she just has the softball knowledge. She knows what to do on any play, I don’t have to tell her what’s going to happen. And she works very hard off-season."

"I think it's that competitive edge that sets her apart," said John Germano, the high school's athletic director. "She never stops trying to improve."

Butler, who plays for her high school team, but also for a traveling team based in Monmouth County, Jersey Intensity, knew she was being watched by scouts from Villanova when she played in a major tournament over the summer. When she found out that she was being offered a recruitment contract, it was a dream come true.

"I have always wanted to play collegiate softball," Butler, 18, said. "Even on my travel team this summer, everyone on my team wanted to play college ball."

"We’re very proud of her," said Stephanie Butler's mother, Jacqueline Butler. "She is such a tremendous athlete, and she competes at such a high level. To compete in division 1 softball playing for Big East is a major accomplishment."

In addition to softball, Butler played basketball and ran winter track in high school. People who know her describe her as someone who was a well-rounded student, not just a strong athlete. Her favorite subjects are math and science, Butler said.

"As great as she is as a softball player, she is an even better person," said Germano. "She's just polite, well-mannered, great. She represents what a great student athlete is all about."

Butler, who was accepted into Villanova's business school with a scholarship, but has not yet declared a major, is not decided on her future career. But she does hope whatever she ends up doing will somehow be related to sports, she said.

"I would love to become a professional athlete and keep going, but unfortunately that does not happen," Butler said. "I would probably like to
stay with the athletic field, maybe work for major sporting companies,
probably do their marketing, team marketing, probably."

Butler will be officially signing the letter of intent to play for Villanova today at 11 a.m., at the Barnegat High School.

 

 

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