FARMVILLE, Va. – With all of the accolades, records and milestones that have come her way at Longwood, it's difficult to imagine that senior catcher Megan Baltzell almost never had the opportunity to play Division I softball.
 
However, that was nearly reality for the Stafford, Va., native, as Baltzell received her one and only Division I scholarship offer from Longwood just a few months before she was set to walk across the stage at her high school graduation.
 
"I was offered by a bunch of D-II and D-III schools," Baltzell said. "I got into the recruiting process really late and didn't sign here until February or March of my senior year."

 

MEGAN BALTZELL IN THE RECORD BOOKS

LONGWOOD RECORDS • Season Home Runs, 2013 (30) • Season RBI, 2013 (78) • Season Walks, 2015 (58) • Season Slugging Percentage, 2013 (.984) • Career Home Runs (73) • Career Total Bases (538) • Career Walks (155) • Career Doubles (57) • Career Runs Scored (231) • Career RBI (219) • Career Games Played (224) • Career Hits (250) BIG SOUTH RECORDS (3 Years) • Season Home Runs, 2013 (30) • Career Home Runs (64) • Career Walks (133) NCAA MILESTONES • 10th all-time in career home runs (73) • 3rd most home runs among active players (73) • Tied for 2nd this season in home runs (24) • Led NCAA in HR as a sophomore in 2013 (30)

Since arriving at Longwood, Baltzell has done nothing but impress and amaze her teammates, coaches and fans along the way. Longwood's first All-American in the Division I era, Baltzell currently holds 12 school records and is on top of Longwood's career charts in slugging percentage and on-base percentage entering this week's Big South Tournament.
 
"We get lost in that it seems like she's breaking a different record every other day now," said teammate and senior pitcher Libby Morris. "Since she first broke the home run record her sophomore year, all of her records have almost become like second nature to us. We don't celebrate them as much as I think we should."
 
Jen Steele, a former Longwood softball standout and assistant coach, as well as current head coach at Jacksonville University, is credited with starting the relationship between head coach Kathy Riley and Baltzell. Steele, an assistant at George Mason at the time who would join Riley's staff at Longwood the next season, had an opportunity to see Baltzell play and saw her as a good fit for the Lancers.
 
After hearing Steele's recommendation, Riley attended a team practice to see her for herself. That practice led to a lasting impression and for more reasons than the power Baltzell displayed during batting practice that day.  She also saw an ideal prospect, a strong, athletic player who was as much about the team as she was about herself.
 
"After she took BP, she took a bucket and went into the outfield and picked up all the balls," Riley said. "That's the kind of thing that makes a good impression on me when recruiting. A lot of times when it comes down to choosing between several athletes, you're choosing ability and what kind of personality they have."
 
Since becoming a member of the Lancers, Baltzell has not diminished her team-oriented approach. She commands the field in a savvy, coach-like way that is admired by both her head coach and her peers.
 
"She helps me by just helping me stay calm on the mound," Morris said. "Sometimes I get out of rhythm and I'm not myself on the mound, and she can pick up on it. That's a pretty good talent, because a lot of people can't tell. She knows exactly what to say each time."
 
Of course, there's also the monster power numbers that Baltzell has displayed. In Longwood's regular season finale this past Sunday, Baltzell reached a new pinnacle in her career. She moved into a tie for 10th all-time in NCAA history in career home runs alongside Washington's Jaimie Clark (2000-03). In addition, Baltzell ranks third among active players in the NCAA in career home runs and was named 2015 Big South Player of the Year Wednesday.
 
"I'm really fortunate to be able to coach a player like her and she has played an instrumental part of our success throughout her entire  career," Riley said earlier this season. "She helped us get to the NCAA Tournament in our first season in the Big South and she's our first  Division I All-American. She's left a legacy here that we hope some of the kids that come in after her will try to emulate."
 
The first member of her family to attend college, Baltzell said part of the reason for the lack of offers in her recruitment was that her family  did not have a good understanding on how to start the recruiting process for her to play Division I softball.
 
Another challenge was the fact that Baltzell's travel team, the Baseliners, did not compete in many of the premier national tournaments  that major college head coaches typically attend for recruiting.
 
"When we recruit, we go all over the United States to different tournaments, so you may not have the opportunity see a local team," Riley  explained.
 
"The team Megan played on just didn't play in enough games where a lot of college coaches come out and watch. If she had been in that situation, some of those coaches would've seen the kind of ability she had."
 
Although Riley admittedly never expects stardom from any player she recruits, she says that Baltzell had all of the traits and tools necessary to become an elite player.
 
"In Megan's case, we felt like she had an opportunity to become a really great player," Riley said. "It's easy to see that she has bat speed and she has power and she has quickness. You tie those things together and it usually increases the chances of that person turning into a great player."
 
Those tools came together quickly as a sophomore when Baltzell burst onto the national scene, leading the nation with 30 home runs and grabbing All-America honors.
 
After leading the Lancers to the program's first regular season title, Baltzell hopes that she can leave one last impression on the program in the form of a second Big South Tournament title. It would mark Longwood's second tournament title in three years and send the Lancers to their second NCAA Tournament in the Division I era.
 
Twelve school records, a top-10 mark in NCAA history, Big South Championship and now a chance for another, and it all came from an opportunity that was nearly never presented.
 

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