Bay View's Mitchell signs National Letter of Intent to Lehigh

Kristen Mitchell has been one of the anchors in the infield during each of Bay View's Division I state finals appearances, playing second base in 2007 when the Bengals captured their first ever Division I fast-pitch crown and then moving to shortstop last season, when Bay View made it back to the finals and was edged by La Salle in extra innings.

Courtesy/Nick Macedo
Kristen Mitchell signs her National Letter of Intent to Lehigh Thursday as her parents, Kileen and David Mitchell, look on.

After she tries to help Bay View reclaim the state title next spring, the two-time All-Stater will be taking her talents to Bethlehem, Pa. where she will be attending Lehigh University and playing for the Mountain Hawks' softball team.

The 17-year-old, who signed her National Letter of Intent to Lehigh yesterday afternoon at Bay View's Athletic Wellness Center, is believed to be one of only two players in the Bay View softball program's history to receive a Division I scholarship. The other player is Mitchell's former teammate Kim Pelland, who is in her first year at Providence College.

After narrowing her choices down to three, with Brown being the other school she was considering, Mitchell decided that Lehigh would be the best fit for her.

"I really had it narrowed down to three very prestigious schools, so it was a very hard decision for me," she said. "Throughout the whole recruiting process, I was really focused on finding a school that was both academically challenging and had a good solid softball program. The whole time, my dad and Dave Lotti, my coach on R.I. Thunder Gold, kept telling me that one of the most important things was to choose a school that I would definitely go to even if I weren't being recruited for softball, so that if anything happened, I would still be happy there.

"All the schools had everything I wanted in a college," Mitchell continued. "But after my visit to Lehigh University, even though it was 5-1/2 hours away from home, I really felt the most at home there. Coach Fran Troyan seemed like he was not only interested in finding an athlete that was a really good fit for the program, but also a good person who would mesh well with the team. So I felt really comfortable there."

Mitchell, who at this point plans to major in accounting and minor in education, will be joining a college softball program that has won the last 10 Patriot League regular-season titles and 4 out of the last 5 tournament championships. The Mountain Hawks went 39-17-1 last spring and made their fifth NCAA Tournament appearance under Troyan.

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