Chris Notareschi is very deserving of her 2012 Youngstown State Hall of Fame induction.  I have the perfect witness to verify her dedication and commitment to women’s softball greatness, me.

I was fortunate enough to grow up two doors down from the Notareschi family.  I would get home after football practice at dusk on a school night and could see the silhouettes of Chris and her father throwing softballs around.  Chris would be pitching and Dave would be catching and working with her to assist her in pursuing a dream most Lowellville residents never get to see, a chance to play college sports.

“I am really honored by the induction”, said Notareschi.  “Hopefully I won’t be too nervous when I have to talk, but I truly am honored and my family is thrilled.  I am looking forward to seeing many people, especially those who will be inducted with me.”

Lowellville didn’t have baseball or softball in those days, so Chris had to go to Poland to play the sport she was best at.  The bloodlines of her father, Dave, and mother,  Debbie (Koss) are full of athletic tradition and greatness, especially football.  Chris was never one to suit up and run sweeps, so softball was the chosen sport.

“My father was a huge influence on my career, if it wasn’t for him, I probably wouldn’t have gotten as far as I did with softball”, said Notareschi.

Notareschi practiced pitching for all those years, but her legacy will be left in the hitting department.

Notareschi was a four-year letterwinner and a three-time first-team all-conference pick. She finished her career as YSU’s career home run and RBIs leader with 18 and 103, respectively, and is currently tied for third in home runs and ranks fourth in RBIs. She set the single-season home run mark with eight and the RBI record with 33 in 1998. She now ranks tied for sixth all-time with 169 hits.

“The most rewarding thing about playing at YSU was that my family was close and got to come and watch me play.  I have been able to maintain the friendships I made with teammates, and obviously, getting my degree and allowing me to be where I am today.”

“I try to keep up on the internet with what the team is doing today, but I have not been on campus since I graduated, so I am really looking forward to going back”, said Notareschi.

“I played ball with Stacy Banfield at Poland.  We went on to play together at YSU.  She lives in North Carolina now but we still talk once a week.  Facebook is the best way for me to keep contact with all of my former teammates.”

Pretty much the entire Notareschi clan has headed West to Las Vegas, Nevada.

When asked if she still wears Youngstown State apparel in Sin City, Notareschi had a good response.

“When I am wearing Youngstown State stuff there, people are always coming up to me and asking me if I know so-and-so, or if I was really from Youngstown, Ohio.  There is always somebody.  As big as our country is, it is weird that someone knows your friends or your relatives back home.”

Notareschi is a teacher in Las Vegas but swears that the students don’t learn about football lines before fractions.

“If I had one career regret, it would be that we never won a championship”, reflected Notareschi.  “The fact that the teams were always getting better each year was pretty rewarding.”

So I can vouch wholeheartedly that my friend has earned the honor to be inducted.  She is a good representative of the product that Youngstown State turns out as an academic model and as a person.

** Photos courtesy of YSU Sports Information / Jamie Hall