Zehner signs with Calumet College of St. Joseph for softball

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

Culver’s Abigayle Zehner signed with Calumet College of St. Joseph Wednesday to continue her softball and academic careers. Front, from left – Scott Zehner, Abigayle’s father; Abigayle; Criston Zehner, Abigayle’s mother. Back – Mike Zehner, Culver athletic director and Abigayle’s uncle.

Urged by her friends, Abigayle Zehner did not start playing softball until she was an eighth-grader.

She is a senior at Culver now, and her career is not close to being over after she signed with Calumet College of St. Joseph to continue her softball and academic careers Wednesday.

Zehner is a speedy center fielder who hit .474 and led Culver in hits with 37 and stolen bases with 19 and tied for the team lead in RBIs with 25.

“I started playing in eighth grade, which is pretty late compared to everybody else,” Zehner said. “But I grew to love it really fast. I did travel and everything, and it just became a part of my life.”

She said current and former teammates like Aiden Molebash, Kylie Molebash, Gracie Milam and Madison Kitts got her started.

She has also played in the infield, but she said she took to playing center field.

“I like running,” Zehner said. “I like moving and being able to track the ball and just to get to places. It’s pretty nice being quick and being out there.”

Zehner plays for the Rush, a travel team based out of Fulton. Culver teammate Gracie Milam is also a teammate on the Rush. When the Rush had a tournament at Calumet College of St. Joseph last summer, she had a chance to visit the campus and meet coach Dave Lopez.

She described Lopez as “bubbly” and compared him to her Culver coach J.B. Overmyer.

Calumet College of St. Joseph is an NAIA school located in Hammond.

“It was great,” Zehner said. “I loved how small it was. It feels like home. I went on a tour and everything, and it was great. It’s exactly what I want to do in college.”

For Zehner, Calumet College of St. Joseph offers both a chance to play softball and a chance for her to pursue her dream of being a defense attorney.

She said she wants to help people “who can’t seem to help themselves as much.”

“They have a really good criminal justice program, and I’m really invested in that,” Zehner said. “And the chance to be able to play softball in college, not a lot of people get, and I’m very glad that I got that.”