Chloe Lesko is a 2023 Extra Elite 100 honoree who checks all the boxes as a power-hitting first baseman/outfielder who was 1st Team All-CIF last year for her Aliso Niguel (Aliso Viejo, California) High team while also taking college level and AP classes.
That outstanding combination of athleticism and academic prowess ended up getting her the attention of top programs including Ivy League programs such as the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) where she committed last Fall and will be part of the very prestigious business program there.
Although it’s on the other side of the country, her parents naturally are very proud.
“Yes, my parents were very excited!” Chloe said this week of her committing to Penn. “My Mom sure is dreading the distance but is also my largest supporter while my Dad is over the moon with (me going to) the Wharton School of Business!”
A longtime blogger for Extra Inning Softball, she’s written ion topics ncluding The Importance of Team Togetherness,” “Getting Mental” and her “Theories of Hitting”
Today she talks about her passion and love for the sport that ties us all together…
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My fellow female athletes: we have reached that time of the year where the most common text you will now be sending is:
“Sorry, I can’t. I have softball!”
That time of year where friends will soon ask:
“You just had practice… can’t you skip this one?”
To that I personally answer:
“No, sorry.”
But I am not really sorry!
Yes, of course I would love to spend time having fun with my friends, but I am not sorry for the fact that my priorities are out on the field.
With the year of 2022 comes one of my last year’s of travel softball before I graduate to play Quaker softball at the University of Pennsylvania. I hadn’t, until recently, realized that the college softball girls I watch and admire on the screen are soon to be my competition on the diamond!
The other day, I came across my first-ever pair of batting gloves in perfect pink condition. The first couple of thoughts that come to mind when finding this piece of memorabilia were:
- How crazy was my dad back then to buy a three-year-old batting gloves?
- Where did all the time go?
The game of softball has brought me so many blessings—from unforgettable memories to some of my closest friends and countless bruises. This sport has stayed with me through it all.
Softball has always been a constant in my life, starting with the little girl in shorts who slid into home plate receiving a raspberry that my dad high-fived over (and my mom yelled about for weeks!) to the 16-year-old girl who committed to play D1 softball in 2021.
I truly have grown through the sport.
For the 14 years I have played softball and never once have I gotten sick of it. I truly am in love with it yet it’s sad that I am more than halfway done with my softball career.
I hope and pray that these last few years of my journey in the sport will be as memorable as the rest of them; however, I know for a fact that, while my cleats may get hung up one day, my love for softball will forever never stop.
— Chloe Lesko
