After transferring from Marshall University after her freshman year, Lindsey Fadnek (Coalfield, Tenn.) has enjoyed and excelled in the ETSU softball program with a team that feels more like family.
Fadnek loved the game of softball, but she didn’t start pitching until she was 8 years old. She was inspired by a girl who played high school ball and was a pitcher, and Fadnek wanted to be like her.
She did that and then some.
At Coalfield High School, Fadnek struck out 1,925 batters, a state record. She was a part of 39 wins, the most in county, while in high school. She also brought the team the first two wins ever for her school in the state tournament and would then go on to play collegiately.
At Marshall University, Fadnek started at pitcher in 16 games. She struck out 63 batters and walked 58 in the 110.2 innings that she pitched. This amounted to her ranking second in Marshall University history for games finished in a single season with 19.
As well as Fadnek did at Marshall, it wasn’t going to work out.
“I didn’t feel like it was the right fit for me,” Fadnek said. “It didn’t feel like a family there.”
Since transferring to ETSU, Fadnek feels like this is where she was meant to be all along. She said the people are nicer and it feels like the family she didn’t have at Marshall.
In her 2015 sophomore season at ETSU, Fadnek made three starts and recorded her career high of five innings pitched versus Campbell. So far in 2016, Fadnek has made eight appearances on the mound.
“Being able to play at the collegiate level is rewarding for me,” Fadnek said after recognizing that only about five percent of athletes get to play their sport in college.
Just recently, Fadnek was named SoCon Pitcher of the Week after her record-breaking performance in the Buccaneer Classic. She is third in ETSU softball program history for most strikeouts in game, striking out 14 batters against Morehead State University and contributing to the 4-3 victory. Overall, she struck out 21 batters in 14 innings and is the first player since 2009 to be name Pitcher of the Week.
Looking ahead, Fadnek is playing with the idea of opening up a facility for pitching and hitting that teaches lessons on a daily basis.
However, she is only a junior, and ETSU expects two more great seasons from this promising transfer student.
