Farmville, Va. - Longwood junior Chelsea Sciacca grew up in southern California with eight siblings and a father who knows a thing or two about hitting as a former minor league baseball player.
 
She played at talent-rich La Habra High, the alma mater of USA softball standout Jenny Topping, and USA softball ace Jenny Finch played at a nearby high school.
 
But perhaps the best part of her childhood was the physical presence of her childhood home in Whittier.
 
"The one thing that sold us on the house was we backed up to a schoolyard," says her father, C.J., a fourth-round pick of Chicago Cubs in 1982 out of high school. "Our backyard is the schoolyard actually."
 
As one of nine children – all with a first name that begins with C – the future Longwood DH/outfielder had plenty of chances to play softball and baseball with her younger brothers at the school fields. Her older sister played two years of softball at a college in California, while two of her younger brothers now play baseball at La Habra.
 
"From day one, she always had a beautiful swing," says her father.
 
She began playing softball when she was four. "I really haven't stopped since," said Chelsea, during an interview at Tabb Hall one weekday morning earlier this season. "I think my biggest strength is probably my hitting and my mentality towards it. I was always taught to get in there and hit, and not to think too much about it. I think that has helped me a lot."
 
So how did the right-handed hitter from Whittier – where former U.S. President Richard Nixon went to college – end up in Farmville?
 
Veteran Longwood head coach Kathy Riley has a friend in California and has made recruiting trips to the Orange County area for several years. The current roster also includes Katie Shinrock, a junior from Fountain Valley, California, and the Lancers have had other players from the state in the past.
 
When Sciacca was convinced to visit Longwood in February of her senior year, she made the trip with her father, who had played minor league baseball in Winston-Salem, N.C. in the Carolina League.
 
He called his wife and Chelsea's mother from Virginia and predicted their daughter was going to attend Longwood.
 
"Chelsea is the kind of girl who can go anywhere and get along with anyone," says her father.
 
"I really liked the atmosphere and Coach Riley," Sciacca says of her recruiting visit.
 
Last season she helped the Lancers win the Big South Conference Tournament in their first season in the league.
 
"She really did a great job for us," Riley said of Sciacca, who moved from the No. 6 hole to cleanup last season.  "She has proven she can have quality at bats." Sciacca is currently hitting .327 and is second on the team with 31 RBI this season.
 
"We knew that Chelsea really loved the game of softball," says Longwood catcher Megan Baltzell. "She has a strong arm and reads the ball really well off the bat. She made some big catches in the tournament. That saved the game for us a few times. Chelsea has a very strong swing and she has a lot of power coming from her swing."
 
She was with the Lancers at a tournament in Florida when she met Taylor Schwarz, the daughter of one of her father's former minor league roommates. Schwarz is a first baseman for the University of Florida, who played against the Lancers.
 
Sciacca's father turned down offers from UCLA and Stanford out of high school to sign with the Cubs. One of his roommates in the minors was Shawon Dunston, a first-round pick of the Cubs in 1982 who went on to play several years in the majors as a shortstop. In the minors, the elder Sciacca played shortstop while Dunston played third on the same team.
 
Sciacca was also teammates in the minors with future big leaguers Jamie Moyer, Rich Amaral, Damon Berryhill and Dave Martinez, a long-time coach with Tampa Bay. He also played with the Angels and reached the high Class level before beginning a new career with the L.A. County sheriff department, where he is currently a detective sergeant.
 
"He always just told me to work hard and go out there and hit," Chelsea recalls. "He does not stress too much about (being at the plate). He (was) a calm player and I am a calm player."
 

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Editor's Note: Special consultant David Driver is a Virginia native and has covered college sports in the state for more than 20 years. He has been a staff writer for newspapers in Arlington, Springfield and Harrisonburg and has contributed to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, The Washington Post, Stafford County Sun and The Potomac News in Woodbridge. He was also the first sports editor for the daily Baltimore Examiner. He will continue contributing special feature content to longwoodlancers.com throughout the upcoming 2013-14 academic year as well.  A former Division III baseball player at Eastern Mennonite University, David can be reached at www.davidsdriver.com.
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Previous 2013-14 Special Features
From South Africa to Longwood
Longwood Head Coach Jayson Gee Introduces PACE
Soccer is a family affair for Kelsey Pardue
Milestone win gives young team confidence
Sophomore guards have a comfort level
Atkinson has men's soccer on the rise
Work ethic pays off for Jeylani Dublin, Lancers
Montgomery makes his pitch for call up In 2014
Morris makes her pitch for another strong season
A long journey to Longwood