April 27, 2018
By Brian McLaughlin, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Dani Fey has gained more experience than she could ever imagine as a freshman for the Penn State softball team, starting 39 games so far this season.
An invaluable part of this Penn State team, primarily because of her versatility and athleticism, Fey has had an up and down season. She settled in early as the Nittany Lions leadoff hitter, before some ups and downs in Big Ten play. Despite that, Fey has continued to work hard and has truly earned her significant amount of playing time.
"It's been really exciting," Fey said. "I just came in with my head low, grinding, just trying to do my best and work hard every day and it has paid off, I haven't exactly had the freshman year that I wanted but it's definitely something that I've learned from and stuff that I've taken from this season that I will be able to fix better for next season."
Coming from a small town, Bangor, Pennsylvania (population just over 5,000), Fey has been able to perform much of her first season with the Nittany Lions in front of family and friends.
"I get to see my family every weekend basically which is really nice. I feel bad for the kids that don't so I'm really thankful for that," Fey said. "Just being from Pennsylvania and growing up around Penn State stuff and a whole bunch of Penn State fans, and being the first kid from my high school to go to Penn State was huge and my town blew up which was really cool. I've always been a Penn State fan and always followed the stuff going on here."
That was one of the big aspects of Fey's decision to attend Penn State. The atmosphere at Penn State was more comfortable to her allowing her to succeed.
"It was a really easy decision for me (to come to Penn State)," Fey said. "It came down to two schools and it was really late in the recruiting process and this felt more like a home. It's better for me academically and from an athletic standpoint too."
Since arriving at Penn State, Fey has been a staple throughout head coach Amanda Lehotak's lineup, providing a spark with her ability to draw walks and cause havoc on the bases. Despite the ups and downs, her attitude has never changed and continues to work to improve.
"We call (Dani) Tori Dubois Jr. because she is kind of sporadic like Tori was her freshman year," Lehotak said. "For Dani I think she is only going to get better and better. She has had a pretty good, productive freshman year and doesn't even give herself enough credit."
Fey boasts an impressive .376 on base percentage thanks to a team high 26 walks. This patience is what once had her at the top of the order despite her inexperience.
"My roles models are probably Gianna (Arrizurieta) and Tori (Dubois)," Fey said. "Tori basically said in another article I'm her mini me. We are very similar and I love looking up to her in the outfield and as a hitter because she is obviously really good at both."
Fey has also been a huge contributor on the defensive side, making multiple highlight reel catches in right-field while appearing multiple times at catcher. It was this versatility that allowed her to see the field so early as a true freshman.
With the season winding down Fey knows she has a lot to improve before coming back as a sophomore. She also has plenty to be proud of and has lots of accomplishments from her freshman season. Likely an impact player next year, Fey will be a mainstay in the lineup and be a table setter once again in Lehotak's offense.
"She's athletic, has an arm, has speed so once she goes home and relaxes this summer she is just going to get better and better," Lehotak said. "We are very excited to have her back next year."