TYLER PACOS
Sports Editor
Amanda Eastman is heading into her senior year and senior season as a Blue Devil at SUNY Fredonia. Eastman is a finance major, but she’s more commonly known as number 17, an outfielder for the Fredonia State University softball team.
Eastman grew up in Macungie, Pa., located about five and a half hours away from Fredonia. She attended high school at Emmaus High School and graduated in June 2019.
Eastman started playing softball at the age of five, and hasn’t stopped since. In her hometown, Eastman would participate in numerous travel leagues growing up, including the Jersey Girls Gold travel team, and would eventually transition into her high school and collegiate years of softball. Softball was easily known as her favorite sport growing up.
During her time with the Emmaus Hornets, Eastman realized that her passion for softball was something she wanted to take to the collegiate level. Her search for her new collegiate team began during the 2018–19 school year. When visiting schools, nothing seemed to click with Eastman. She wanted something that made her feel welcome and at home.
Once she visited Fredonia, she knew it was the only place that was right for her. “I was mainly looking at the business and softball programs going into each tour,” said Eastman. “Once I was able to tour Fredonia, it just really felt like I belonged here. To me, it stood out from the rest.”
Since joining the Blue Devils squad in 2019, Eastman has only been able to play one ‘normal’ season. This has been due to the COVID-19 pandemic as we know it.
Although the pandemic has put a dent in many athletes’ lives over the past two years, it never changed Eastman’s. She is still on the softball team and said she wouldn’t change it for anything. Even during the pandemic, she found ways to stay sharp on her softball skills, but most importantly, she was able to stay connected with her teammates and peers during a time of uncertainty.
“Fredonia is very big on athletes supporting athletes,” said Eastman. “We’re always going to each other’s games and supporting each other, so it’s an overall pretty fun environment being an athlete at Fredonia.”
Since the sports teams at Fredonia returned from a two year pandemic-altered hiatus, most athletes have gone back to a sense of normalcy during their respective seasons. With classes shifting back to in-person, it was a bit of an adjustment for most. Luckily, the staff at Fredonia made it an easy transition for the busiest of student athletes.
“Our coach schedules practices and workouts around our schedule[s] to the best of their ability,” said Eastman. “Every coach here prioritizes classes. Even the professors I’ve had have been very understanding about my sports schedule.”
Eastman has just one more year left at Fredonia and is expected to graduate in May 2023. Although the end is near, she said she is grateful for her time spent here, despite being so far from home. Fredonia will always be more than just her college town to Eastman. It’s her second home.