Kaplan pitcher signs with college in Pennsylvania

Abby Trahan will now be spending her winters surrounded by snow in the mountains instead of cool winter nights in Cajun country.
Trahan, a Kaplan High senior, signed a national letter of intent on Wednesday to play softball in Pennsylvania at St. Francis University in Loretto, Pa., located in the mountains.
Her family and classmates attended the signing in the Kaplan High School library.
In winter, the average high temperature in Loretto is 25 with the low being in the teens.
“It is something I am going to have to get used to,” Trahan said about the weather.
She said she selected the university because of the small school atmosphere.
“One reason was the environment on campus and how I felt at home even when it was just my first time being there. The second reason is that I knew I was really wanted by Saint Francis and was really welcomed into the softball program.”
Trahan has pitched for the Lady Pirates for four years. Her record last year was 16-4 with an .87 ERA , 191 strikeouts in 137 innings.
St. Francis is a Division I school that plays in the Northeast Conference. Last year the school posted a 31-19 record.
Trahan has been knowing about St. Francis Red Flash since the summer before her junior year.
She was playing on a travel ball team , the Wichita Mustangs, in Colorado the summer before her junior year. The coaches went to scout another player, who had not started her game.
The Red Flash coaches sat and began watching the Mustangs play and became impressed with Trahan. She just so happen to pitch a great game as they watched.
Patrick Swift, St. Francis’s softball coach said, “Abby has dreamed of this moment for so long and we’re so thrilled that she gets to live out her dream here at SFU. She has spent the last several summers playing for one of the most prestigious travel teams in the country, the Wichita Mustangs, preparing to pitch at this level.
“Her presence on the mound, encompassed with her experiences in the circle, have already garnered her a familiarity with what NCAA Division I softball is all about.”
Kaplan head coach Shay Herpin was happy for Trahan because of all the hard work she puts into pitching.
“The amount of time she puts into pitching, she deserves this,” said Herpin. “It is very gratifying to see this.”