Mount Saint Mary College Athletics

Stephanie Karcher helped lay the foundation for the softball program who has turned into a perennial power in the Skyline Conference. Karcher was a three-time All-Skyline Conference selection and helped the Mount to a Skyline Conference regular season crown as a senior.
 
Over a four-year career, Karcher etched her name in the program's history as one of the most prolific hitters it has ever seen. In 125 games played, Karcher hit an impressive .347 in 377 at-bats, amassing 131 hits. She finished her career with 27 doubles, four triples and a program record 20 home runs. Karcher hit a single season record 10 round trippers as a sophomore in 2013 and rounded out a stellar career with 94 runs scored and 85 RBI. She also holds the NCAA Division III single game mark for total bases (13) and RBI (9).
 
Stephanie was made a Second Team All-Skyline Conference pick in both 2013 and 2014 and after hitting .398 as a senior with 30 runs scored and 22 RBI was made a First Team All-League pick. Karcher helped the Knights to the Skyline Conference Championship Tournament in 2014 and 2015, earning the top-seed in the event of the final day of the 2015 regular season.
 
Two memories stick out of her illustrious four year career, with both including unusual circumstances. During the 2013 season, the Knights played Brooklyn on their brand new turf field and were unable to wear the conventional metal spikes for the doubleheader, "So Brooklyn's coach offered us sneakers from the lost and found to wear instead."
 
The other had to do with the weather in a doubleheader against league rival the College of Mount Saint Vincent. "It started white-out snowing in the second game. By the seventh inning, I could barely see the signs to relay to our pitcher or even the ball as it was coming in."
 
Stephanie's proudest moment as a Knight, though, came on the final day of the 2015 season when the team clinched the top-seed in the conference tournament. After dropping the first game of the set with Farmingdale State, the team rallied for a 10-0 win over the Rams.
 
"The fight and drive within the team, especially just coming off a loss, was inspiring, and the fact it was on Senior Day made it that much more special," she recalls.
 
Upon graduation from the Mount, Stephanie was hired within a month to be a Systems Engineer at CooperSurgical, Inc. in Trumbull, Conn. She also offered private hitting and catching lessons in her hometown of Oxford, Conn. and worked as an instructor at Bottom 9 Sports Academy in Naugatuck, Conn. Currently, Stephanie works as a Software Engineer at CooperSurgical.
 
"The most important thing being a student-athlete has taught me is that you should not take anything for granted. Time as a student-athlete is short and sacred, just like everything else good in life. You only get to be both a student and an athlete for so long before the ride ends. Sports have taught me to enjoy the heartbreakers right along with the sweet victories, work hard, and live in the moment, whether it is part of my personal life or career. It's a different type of appreciation that only being a student-athlete can make you feel."