Freeport grad Tori Radvan ends softball career with solid senior season for Pitt-Johnstown

When Tori Radvan walked onto the field for Pitt-Johnstown softball’s senior day, she was escorted by her older sister, Kristie. It was a fitting curtain-closer for Tori’s softball career.

Three years earlier, when Kristie was a senior and Tori was a freshman with the Mountain Cats, Kristie suffered a torn ACL. Tori, who had been serving mostly as coach Niki Pecora’s designated player, took her place at first base, a position she had little to no experience playing.

“Coach Niki came up to me and said, ‘It’s in your genes,’ ” Tori, a Freeport grad, said when recalling her move to first base. “It was more of a mental thing for me. I was more scared than anything because I was playing a Division II sport at a position I’ve never really played before.

“(Kristie) pretty much just told me to be myself and relax and have fun.”

Relax and have fun. Those were Radvan’s goals for her softball career at UPJ. She said she never concerned herself with accolades or statistics.

In fact, she didn’t even know she finished as the program’s all-time leader in doubles (27) and, as a junior, tied the program single-season record for RBIs (29). That mark, coincidentally, is shared with Kristie.

But if she had taken the time to look at her statistics, Radvan would have seen some impressive numbers. She finished her four seasons with a .308 batting average — over her junior and senior years, she hit a combined .343 — 14 homers, 70 RBIs, 46 extra-base hits and 67 runs.

She also pitched in 30 games over her first three seasons, getting what Pecora called “some awesome wins” from the circle during the 2023 season. Of the final 140 games she appeared in during her time at UPJ, Radvan started every one.

This past season, she hit .339 and posted a career-best 43 hits, including three homers and eight doubles. All while playing at less than 100% after offseason surgery for a broken kneecap suffered just before fall workouts.

The aftereffects of the injury prevented Radvan from pitching, but she hit out of the leadoff spot all season and started 39 games at second base and one at shortstop.

“She’s been that constant in our lineup the last four years,” said Pecora, who just wrapped up her ninth year as coach of the Mountain Cats. “It’s a little bittersweet because she was a senior, but it was so nice to see her go out being able to play and being as successful as she was.”

Radvan wasn’t an instant success at the college level. While her power and RBI capability carried over from high school — she hit seven homers and drove in 29 runs over her first two seasons — she hit a pedestrian .261 over those two years.

She finally broke out as a junior, hitting .343 with four homers, 13 doubles and those program-record tying 29 RBIs.

“I didn’t change anything,” she said. “I think it was just experience playing in college. It’s a big difference … the pitching (in high school) isn’t what you see in college.

“I didn’t really have goals to break or anything. It was more like, I have the opportunity to play, so I just want to make the most of it and have fun.”

As solid as Radvan’s numbers were over her final two seasons, particularly in 2023, she didn’t receive any all-conference honors.

“If you would have asked me, I would have said 100% she should have been an all-conference player. Her junior year for sure,” Pecora said. “For her not to make that and to not have that is definitely disappointing because I know how hard she worked, and I know the type of player she is.”

Radvan, much like with her statistics, isn’t fretting the lack of all-conference recognition. She said she was happy just to play college athletics, an opportunity many don’t get to experience.

As far as she is concerned, she achieved her main goals.

“This year I think was, honestly, the most fun for me just because the team was … it was the friendships,” she said. “We didn’t have a winning season (7-35, 4-26 PSAC West), but we were all so close.

“Coming out of it, I’m glad with the career I had, but it’s mostly the friendships that I’ve made over the years that I’m thankful for. Softball helped me a lot with work ethic and time management and just letting me relax and have fun.”

On senior day, as the Radvan sisters met with Pecora during the ceremony, the coach hugged both, then realized how different next season would be without either one of them.

There’s one more Radvan in the athletic pipeline: Sister Jayme is wrapping up her freshman year at Freeport. And though she does play softball, Jayme Radvan, Tori said, is more interested in volleyball.

So this likely marks the end for Radvans on the softball roster at UPJ or at any other college.

For Tori, she is at peace with this being the end of her softball career.

She said she isn’t considering going into coaching and instead is ready to move on with the next phase of her life. She is pursuing her master’s degree in occupational therapy.

And though she walks away satisfied she accomplished everything she wanted to in softball, Radvan admitted it will be strange not having to go to practice in the fall.

“There are a few other athletes in the (grad school) program, and we were just talking about it has sunk in that we aren’t going to play anymore,” she said. “I think next year whenever the season comes … I think that’s when it’s really going to hit.”