Hall of Fame Spotlight: Stephanie Pasquale

One of top softball players in Temple history, Stephanie Pasquale owns the school records for total bases (385), runs (168), doubles (45), RBI (152), and batting average (.379) in a career spanning three-plus years (2010-14).

As a junior, Pasquale earned an array of accolades highlighted by Third Team All-America, ECAC Player of the Year, Atlantic 10 Player of the Year and All-Northeast Region First Team. In that 2013 season, she set the A10 record and led the nation with 80 RBI and established new TU single-season records for batting average (.465), hits (87), doubles (21), home runs (15) and total bases (153).

Pasquale entered her senior season as one of 50 players on USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Watch List, but unfortunately suffered a season-ending wrist injury. She finished her career at Nebraska, earning All-Region honors and helping lead the Cornhuskers to the NCAA Tournament.

Talk about your decision to attend Temple?

"I got into the game a little late in terms of recruiting. Besides Temple I was being looked at by Fordham and a little bit by St. Joe's.

Basically, (Temple coach) Joe DiPietro just sold me on Temple. I came to visit Temple with my teammate Sarah Prezioso, and we loved it. Joe was just a great salesman as are most coaches and he was a great guy. I loved playing for him.

In the end though my decision came down to the school and Temple had exactly what I wanted to study. The atmosphere at Temple was awesome. I did not mind living in the city and knowing I was only two and a half hours away from home really helped."

You had a record setting junior season. Talk about how that came about and does any memory stand out more than another from that season?

"That was a great season, not just for me but for the whole team. I thought we were going to win the A-10 Tournament, which would have been nice. Even though we didn't, it was a good year. As a team we were all on the same page. We were just hitting so well. I remember Ali Robinson, Sarah Prezioso and I were all tied at one point for the team lead in home runs.

We just came together as a team. We all had the same goal in mind. We wanted to win."

Heading into your senior season you get the news that it would be the last year for Temple Softball. How difficult was that for you and your teammates?

"It was difficult. I did think about transferring and Coach was getting calls about me as well as Sarah Prezioso. We both contemplated it, but I decided it was not right to leave right before our season started and it would be difficult having such a short preseason with a new team.

Some girls transferred, but it was my last year, so I made the decision to stay with my team. That changed when I got hurt during the year.

You were a preseason All-American going into that final season at Temple and then were injured early. Talk about the injury and how tough that was for you?

"We were down in Florida for Spring Training, and I decided late to slide headfirst into third base. My hand hit the bag late and it got jammed up. I broke the middle bone in my hand. After the x-rays were taken, we decided not to play the rest of spring training. When we came back to Temple, I was checked out by our Temple doctors and was put in a cast.

I tried to come back at one point, but it was too painful, so I ended up red-shirting the season."

You ended your college career at Nebraska? Talk about the decision to go there and how nice it was to end your career on a high note?

"I literally sent emails out after the season to every big school I could think of. Alot of them did not get back to me. Back then there was no (transfer) portal, so you really had to know someone. I could have transferred locally as St. Joe's really wanted me, but I wanted to play for a big school and have a chance to go to the NCAA Tournament.

I ended up visiting Texas Tech and originally, I was going to play there but I found out the day I was going to commit to them that their coach was fired. I also visited Coastal Carolina, a great school with a beautiful campus, but I really wanted to go to a bigger school.

Out of nowhere I got an email back from Nebraska's coach, Rhonda Revelle, that their starting catcher was transferring and their backup needed surgery, so they had a real need for a catcher.

I flew out and was there for a whirlwind day, toured the campus, met the team and within 48 hours I was a Cornhusker.

It was a good year. We made it to (NCAA) Regionals which I was happy about and I made all-Big 10 and all-Region as well as earning Academic All-America honors. It was a fun way to end my career."

What have you been doing since your graduation?
"I was a volunteer softball coach at an all-girls school, Immaculate Heart Academy, for two years. Then I went back to school and got a second degree, this one in Occupational Therapy and moved down to South Carolina. I ended up changing careers and am now a police office in Bluffton, S.C.

Lastly, how did it feel to get the call that you were being inducted into the Hall of Fame and when has the honor sunk in yet?

"I got the call from (Temple Vice President/Nancy and Donald Resnick Athletic Director) Arthur Johnson and then I called my dad. I later found out that my brother, Chris, had nominated me. It was nice as we used to fight all the time about who was the better athlete in the family. He played baseball and is five years older than me. We used to compare stats with each other, so it was nice to see that he was the one who nominated me.

Between him, my sister, my mom and dad, I had a good support system. They were my cheerleaders behind the scenes."

Temple University Athletics

Hall of Fame Spotlight: Stephanie Pasquale

Related Videos