Sophomore slugger swings toward Bombers’ single season home run crown

Sophomore catcher Haley Petrucci steps up to bat for the Ithaca College softball team. Petrucci needs four more home runs to tie the all-time season home record at Ithaca College that was set by Laura Remia ’01 during the 1999 Division III softball season.

When first baseman Laura Remia ’01 smacked 10 home runs in her inaugural college season, she etched her name into the Ithaca College softball record books with one of the best power-hitting seasons the school had ever seen.

But when she hit 15 as a sophomore, the entirety of Division III took notice. That 1999 South Hill Squad would make the first of four straight College World Series appearances, which culminated in the legendary 2002 title. For over two decades, many of her school records have stood, untouched, until now.

To say sophomore catcher Haley Petrucci has been crushing softballs out of the park this season would be an understatement. Remia competed in 42 games during the 1999 season to reach her home run total. Meanwhile, Petrucci belted her 11th home run to left-center against Alfred University in what was just her 17th start of the season.

Petrucci said her softball journey began as early as six years old, when she began playing because of her older sister Kirsten.

“I wanted to be like her,” Petrucci said. “So I just started playing [when] she played, and then I loved it and like, I stuck with it for longer.”

Her love of softball eventually took her to Bishop Feehan High School, one of Massachusetts’ most dominant softball programs. In her first season, Petrucci would be the backup catcher behind current RPI graduate student catcher Gabby Comeau. Additionally, she found her sophomore season canceled because of COVID-19.

Petrucci said that sophomore season without softball helped her in the long term by making her realize that she still loved the game.

“I like, took a break from softball with COVID,” Petrucci said. “Partially because I was forced to. And I think I realized how much I missed it. … I think I had been kind of just playing because I had been playing for so many years … so I was like, ‘Okay, I’ll just play another year.’ Like, I didn’t see an option for not playing, but I think I really missed it.”

Petrucci’s junior season was altered with a shortened 13–game season, as many 2021 seasons were across all sports, but the external circumstances that affected that year only made the numbers she was able to put up that much more impressive.

Bill Milot, Bishop Feehan softball head coach, said that during her junior year, Petrucci hit over a .650 average at the plate.

“In 2021, she hit .657 for us,” Milot said. “It’s hard to believe, isn’t it?”

As hard as these numbers are to believe, they correspond with a 2021 article from Attleboro-based newspaper The Sun Chronicle that named an all-star roster from high schools in the local area. According to the paper, Petrucci had 28 hits in the shortened season, along with four home runs, 17 RBIs and an on–base percentage that began with a 7.

Petrucci said she never planned to attend a school that was so far from home, but described some of the factors that would contribute to her choosing Ithaca College.

“I just came on a tour, and my tour guide sold it for me,” Petrucci said. “I love that it was near a lake, that was something that made me happy. And then I talked to Coach [Kelly Robichaud] and I loved her, and I wanted to play for her, and it is a very competitive program and I wanted to be part of that.”

Now, nearly a decade and a half after first picking up the bat for the first time, Petrucci is amid not just the best power-hitting season in Ithaca College history, but one of the best in Division III history. As a first-year student, Petrucci hit a respectable .282/.315/.487 with four home runs, but this season these numbers have ballooned to .426/.514/1.098 with 11 home runs in just 21 games played. Her current slugging percentage is over .100 better than Remia’s best season as a Bomber, and at her current rate, passing Remia’s record is more of an inevitability.

To put into perspective how elite Petrucci has been at the plate for the Bombers this season, her slugging percentage through 20 games this season (1.098) is actually higher than it was in her .657-averaging junior season at Feehan (1.095).

Petrucci attributed her notable power spike this season to the fruits of her preseason labor. Throughout the preseason, she said she worked with her coaches to refine her swing technique, putting in consistent effort to enhance her skills and performance on the field. This drive to consistently improve helps define Haley Petrucci to the people around her, a sentiment that Milot echoed.

“I’d say whatever Haley puts her mind to, she’s going to succeed at,” Milot said. “She’s that type of kid, hard-working kid.

Junior shortstop Sela Scheinman said she admires Petrucci’s technique and attitude on the field.

“I love watching Haley hit,” Scheinman said. “She has one of the most sound swings on our team. … She just gets up to the plate and no matter what the situation is, she’s totally in control of the at-bat. … I really look up to her in a lot of ways for how she approaches every game and every at-bat that she’s a real player.”

When asked about Petrucci’s improvement over the offseason, Scheinman said she was consistently a very hard worker, and mentioned that Petrucci has been hitting the weight room hard this season.

“She got big,” Scheinman said. “And I think that’s also showing with the bat. The ball’s just flying.”

Even off the field, Petrucci leaves a lasting impression on people. Milot said that Petrucci is not someone he will forget.

“[She is] just a nice person,” Milot said. “I actually coached high school nine years prior to coming here. And I’ve coached with my daughter, who’s now 33, since the time she was nine. So I’ve been doing this a long time. She is a player that I believe I’ll always remember.”

Scheinman had similarly glowing praise for Petrucci, and she said Petrucci’s positivity and kindness make her a great person to be with.

“Haley is awesome,” Scheinman said. “She’s someone who you know is always gonna have your back. She’s always got the effect of like, always bringing a smile to your face because she always has a smile on her face. And she’s just such an awesome person to be around. It’s such a positive energy all the time.”

When asked where she and the rest of the 2024 Ithaca College softball team can go from here, Petrucci said everyone has always had one goal in mind.

“I think it’s always our goal to win the [Liberty] League,” Petrucci said. “I think we go into it like, aiming for that and striving for that. So we always picture ourselves playing Liberty League championships and you know, we want to win.”

But more than anything, Petrucci said she just wants to continue having fun.

“I just show up, and I just play the sport that I love,” Petrucci said. “And that was something that I worked hard to get back this year, after struggling through it last year. So I think my biggest thing is like, I show up, and I just enjoy myself and I have fun.”