Jennifer Calandrilla - Softball (1997-1999)
2007 Inductee
Taking the podium, Calandrilla said Saturday was the second best day of her life so far. The first was when her son was born.
She said RLC became a home away from home for a scared, nervous freshman from Indiana. Friendly staff, coaches and faculty were mostly to thank for this, she added. And when she was away, home came to her in the form of a travelling group of Calandrillas, driving miles and miles to support her at home and away games.
“My family has been wonderful throughout my life,” she said.
Her father was the one who taught her the game, she revealed.
“Dad,” Calandrilla said with tears building up. “You are my hero and I thank you so much for being the best father and role model a kid could ask for.
“Mom,” she added. “You were my biggest fan. You didn’t know a lot about softball, but you were always there, cheering me on.”
She recalled the point when her do-or-die dedication to the game began.
“I remember when I was about 7 years old,” she said. “I got hit in the lip with the ball. Dad asked me, ‘Do you want to quit?’ I said, ‘Heck no!’”
From there, she would go on to play tremendous softball at Northview High, RLC and Indiana State University.
Ellingsworth presented her a Hall of Fame plaque at the ceremony. She responded, “This is a wonderful honor. Coach Ellingsworth, I appreciate it and I thank you.”
When Calandrilla posted her .404 batting average (55-136) and 51 RBIs from the No. 3 spot in the Lady Warriors lineup, she did so in just 42 games. Those totals were accompanied by .456 on-base and .742 slugging percentages (thanks to 28 of her team’s 68 extra-base knocks).
Three times that spring she had five hits in GRAC twin bills – 5-7 with a home run, four runs scored and five RBIs; 5-7 with three doubles, six runs scored and five RBIs, and 5-6 with four doubles and seven RBIs. She enjoyed a half-dozen three-hit games and a like number of outings with at least that many RBIs, including five in a two-homer outburst versus national power Wabash Valley.
Calandrilla was not a one-season wonder, however.
She arrived in Ina with Hoosier records for three career grand slams and three triples in one game. As a prep sophomore, she started along with three other future Lady Warriors on a Northview squad that lost in the state finals to finish 25-2. All-State laurels came her final two seasons.
She hit .370 the fall of her freshman year, .330 for the combined fall/spring campaign. And it was more of the same the following fall, when the first baseman/outfielder hit .354 and led the team in hits, doubles, RBIs and extra-base hits, with a .582 slugging percentage.
The player known as Jenny Lou “made vast improvement between her freshman and sophomore years, and she was a good player her first year here,” noted Ellingsworth. How did she do it? “Through dedication . . . her work ethic. She made herself a better player. She always wanted extra groundballs after practice or more cuts in the cage. She did all the things it takes to get better.”
Calandrilla’s combined 76 RBIs as a soph rank No. 2 all-time behind Hall-of-Famer April Long. She boasts two of the top four seasons in doubles, including a second-best 27 as a soph, and a tie for fifth with those seven home runs.
At the time she graduated in favor of a return home to Indiana State University, Calandrilla was No. 2 in the RLC career record book with 50 doubles and No. 3 in hits with 160 and in RBIs with 121. She batted .386 as a soph (83-215) and .357 (160-448) in 141 career games.
2009 Induction Ceremonies
February 28, 2009
Rend Lake College Banquet Center
Nominating Process
The Selection Committee has the responsibility of evaluating all nominees to determine those individuals/teams to be inducted annually into the Rend Lake College Sports Hall of Fame.
Nominees may be from several categories – Former Athletes; Former Coaches; Former Teams; Alumni Coaches, and Sports Professionals (officials, writers, photographers and other professionals). Nominations are solicited each year from former players, coaches and students, college personnel and the general public...(more)