As Line Drive Softball continues to grow, we will be adding the “voice” of the athlete to share what’s happening in softball from the perspective of the athlete.

Today, we’re introducing Rose Wendel, a Class of 2027 corner infielder, pitcher and strong hitter currently competing for the Keystone State Bombers 16U team coached by Sam Snyder out of Manheim, Pa.

A dangerous power hitter who can smack a home run on any pitch, Rose smashed her first over-the-fence homer—on a high school field, impressively—at the tender age of 10 and hasn’t looked back since then.

Here’s a video compilation of some of her home runs:

Rose grew up in San Diego, Calif. where she had older siblings who played baseball and softball, so she started hitting in the batting cages at just two years old!

She also was a talented pitcher who was on the mound in rec ball 8U games at age five and soon became the best hitter on the team.

At nine-years-old, Rose started playing travel ball and soon excelled thanks to her tremendous bat skills and her ability to throw with tough-to-hit spins among her multiple pitch options.

The young athlete recently moved with her family to Lancaster, Pa. where she attends Hempfield High in Salunga-Landisville, Pa. Rose practices outside as weather permits and in her family’s barn when the weather isn’t accommodating.

Check out this video interview with Rose where she explains her softball origins:

Rose also values working on the mental side of the game and maintains a healthy balance of good friends, impressive grades and a thankful and upbeat demeanor.

Ranked as a top 100 player in her class, she hit 10 over-the-fence home runs last summer in travel ball and, in her school ball and club games combined this spring, she smacked another 11 homers, but Rose is not a one-dimensional player only (power) as she also batted .483 with 89 RBIs.

The California transplant ended her freshman year with a 4.0 GPA in all Honors Classes. Rose is also a two-sport athlete for a 6A high school making both the varsity tennis and varsity softball teams as a freshman.

You don’t have to look far to see where her athleticism comes from:

• Her father played D1 tennis at the University of Washington,
• Her uncle played D1 soccer at Cornell,
• Her cousin played D1 baseball at Kent State University.

Looking ahead to playing at the collegiate level, Rose is passionate about competing at a high level now and in the future.

“My goal is to attend a school with strong academics and a competitive softball team,” she says. “On the field, I’m known for my work ethic, maturity, softball IQ, and composure on the mound.”

For now, though, she’s very busy and on the road a lot for her Keystone State Bombers team. It’s not likely you’ll find her at home in Lancaster too often.

Summarizing her softball play this summer, she explains:

“I was in Virginia Beach for a tournament and then flew to Michigan for a University of Michigan camp last week and also recently flew into State College for a national tournament at Penn State with my team. I also just recently went to a camp at Columbia University.”

The 2027 grad has shined in early events, hitting .500 at the Michigan camp and at the recent East Coast Showcase, she also hit at a close to .500 clip.

Rose will provide her written and video blogs a couple times each month and we’ll literally get to see her grow and develop into a college recruit right before our eyes!

She can also be found on the following social media pages:

• Instagram: RoseWendelSoftball
• Twitter:@RoseWendel2027
• YouTube:@RoseWendel

—Brentt Eads/Line Drive Softball

If other players – be it a the club or college level – would like to blog for us, write brentt.eads@linedrivemedia.com and tell us your and what you’d like to share with our softball audience!