When Adelphi softball began the season at 0-11, needless to say, they were not the favorite to win the East Region or even the Northeast-10.
Then came a miraculous run in which they went 31-8 and shock the softball community by qualifying for the College World Series for the first time since 1988 and their first as a Division-II team in program history.
Right in the middle of that charge was sophomore Christina Palmenteri, a Mineola High School alum. The feeling of winning a regional and super regional is indescribable, she said.
“Being on the field with your 15 best friends and waiting to throw your glove in the air and get into a big pile of hugs and smiles when winning the regional and super regional is what made it so indescribable,” she said.
This season, Palmenteri started 52 games for the Panthers and scored 17 runs while driving in 13. While at Mineola High School, she was the captain of the team for four years and garnered All-County status twice.
With a great college program right down the road, it was a perfect match for the softball star.
“When choosing Adelphi, I first wanted to make sure I would be able to get my degree in teaching phys. ed and health education,” she said. “Even though I wanted to go away at first, when I stepped on the Adelphi campus, I knew it was for me. I’ve also been going to the clinics and camps at Adelphi for a couple of years now, and the way the previous teams were together, made me really want to be apart of the culture and be a future Panther. Sure enough, It all fell into place he spring of my junior year of high school when I made the decision to play softball and study my passion.”
In the two years since donning the brown and yellow, Palmenteri has been a part of 58 wins and has smacked 32 hits for the Panthers. She feels she has made the right decision not only for her major but also in terms of improving on the field.
“I’ve definitely improved since I’ve gotten to Adelphi,” she said. “My friends and family like to tell me I’ve matured and understand the important things in life a lot more than I did in high school. I’ve also come to understand the true meaning of being what a student-athlete is here at Adelphi. Last year, we were number one in the nation for DII softball in team GPA.
“The culture we have at Adelphi Softball is really unique,” Palmenteri continued. “While we compete at a high level, we also value a lot of non-softball related aspects. I grow every semester at Adelphi as a student-athlete and I enjoy every single second of it.”
She credits this upbringing to her parents and her softball coaches growing up. Palmenteri noted that her dad spent “endless amount of hours throwing long toss in the street” and her mom always pushed her to be the best starting in Tee-Ball. She thinks fondly of her time in Albertson-Herricks Tee-Ball.
“It really made me realize that softball was going to be my main focus and to specialize in that sport through out high school,” she said.
Palmenteri still has two years left of college ball before moving on to pursue her career in special education and physical education.
“I can’t wait to be making a difference and give back for all the times my teachers and coaches had given to me,” she said.
