Dupage Policy Journal

College of DuPage softball standout Alyssa Ressinger's love of softball has its roots in baseball.

Ressinger told the DuPage Policy Journal that prior to sixth grade, she and her best friend Sam played baseball. That was the sport she started in, and she did not want to switch, Ressinger said.

In sixth grade, she and her friend were the only girls in the park district league. About that time, her friend's dad convinced them to switch to softball, because girls were not allowed to play baseball in high school.

“So, Sam and I started playing for the Glen Ellyn Phillies travel team and we learned to love softball,” Ressinger said. “Some of my best early softball memories are playing tournaments every weekend with the Phillies. I still get nostalgic every time I pass Ackerman Park.”

That began Ressinger's onslaught on the region's softball fields, first for Willowbrook High School and now for the College of DuPage, where she already has one stellar season on her resume and seems primed for another.

During the 2016 season, Ressinger hit 11 home runs, which placed her fifth in Division III of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), according to the association's official statistics. She had 53 runs batted in, 115 total bases, 66 hits, 53 runs scored and had a .402 batting average.

Those numbers earned her placement on the All-Division III First Team.

This season, through the Chaparrals' first six games, she has batted .474 with seven runs and nine hits. Ressinger said she has become a better all-around player since coming to CoD after earning third-team all-state honors at Willowbrook. However, she said she has improved mentally as well.

“Bouncing back from mistakes and bad at bats was something that I struggled with in high school, and now I am strong enough mentally to move past mistakes,” Ressinger said. “Playing at CoD has also improved my leadership skills immensely.”

Ressinger made her way to CoD on a bit of a winding road. While her high-school teammates were receiving offers from colleges the summer before their senior years, Ressinger said she got interest from a few small schools.

“It was very frustrating and even made me decide that I didn’t want to play anymore because I felt that all of my hard work was for nothing,” she said.

But after spending a few months at Augustana College, she said, there was “a hole” in her life without softball. CoD still had interest in her coming to play.

Going from high-school softball to college-level play required her to step up her work ethic.

“Throughout the entire year we are doing something, whether it be workouts, fundraising or practicing,” she said. “Playing in college is also different because everyone has talent, creating more competition within the team and making everyone better players.”

Now, as her final season at CoD plays out, Ressinger said she has received interest from a few college coaches, but nothing has been established yet.

“I am hoping that my numbers will show how much work I put in this offseason, and more coaches will show interest as the season goes on,” she said.