Last summer, Denison softball standout Sarah Herold ’18 traveled to Australia with the USA Athletes International softball team to represent the U.S. in two weeks of Olympic-style play. During her time in the outfield and pitching, Herold helped to lead the team, which consisted of athletes from Division I, Division II, and Division III programs, to a 7-0 record. Herold had two pitching wins and batted 13-for-21 for a massive .619 average. We caught up with Herold to ask about the secrets behind her success.
Major: Biochemistry
Pregame superstitions: I definitely eat a snack, most likely a chocolate chip granola bar. If I don’t eat anything, it’s going to be a bad day. I can just tell. And the same thing goes for music. A lot of the teams we play have pregame playlists, but nothing gets me pumped up like my own jams.
Favorite class: All my love to biochemistry, but it was definitely my African dance class. I don’t know if I’ve ever been a part of a group of people that bonded so quickly.
Top moment on the field: I was out for most of the season my first year due to health reasons. I came back just in time for the conference tournament, and my coaches trusted me to go in. The next three games I pitched were all shutouts … not a bad way to make a college debut.
Dream job: I’d like to be a reconstructive surgeon for burn victims. That’s actually why I chose Denison. A Division I school recruited me, but they would have decided my major for me. I knew I could be competitive and get the education that I wanted here.