By Sofia Evangelista
Leandra Lopez looks like your typical Long Island college softball player, but when she asks how “y’all” are doing, you know she’s not from around here. When you get an even closer look, the scars on both of her knees reveal the adversity she has overcome to get to where she is today, playing Division II College Softball in New York.
Leandra, “LeeLo”, is from Midland, Texas, where she attended Midland High School. Playing softball her whole life, LeeLoo had a passion and love of the sport, always dreaming of playing in college. Leandra was going into her sophomore season strong and excited for her second year of high school softball, but little did she know her life and softball career would change. It was the first practice of the season, playing her position in centerfield, where LeeLo tried to stop herself from colliding with the other outfielder, but her cleat got stuck in the mud. POP. Once she felt and heard that noise, she went down to the ground screaming in pain. Complete tear in right acl. “I remember going to the doctor and balling my eyes out when I saw the results because I didn’t think I could come back from this.”
Despite the overall shock and fear, determination kicked in and Leandra dedicated herself to coming back quickly and healthy for her junior season. Instead of the expected nine to twelve month surgery recovery, LeeLo came back in six months ready to play, with the new edition of a brace to her right leg. From relearning how to bend her knee, to making cuts and diving plays in the outfield, she was back and had played her junior year with a lot of success.
That summer going into her senior year of high school, LeeLoo was attending a college recruiting camp in Arkansas. Filled with big division one and two scouts for schools like Baylor, Arkansas, and Texas, LeeLo was a top recruit. Not having to wear her brace anymore, LeeLo was a little scared when it was time to be timed during the agility section of the camp. But since her surgery was a year ago, she thought she would be fine without her once protective brace. It all happened when a simple cut from one cone to the next was being made, but not finished. POP. LeeLo fell to the ground and knew from the same pain that it just had happened again, another tear. In the same knee. But being able to walk on it, this was different from her first time, where she was not able to stand or even bend that leg. So her mom ran to the car, grabbed her brace, and LeeLo finished the rest of the camp. However, waking up the next day with swelling so big, she went to the doctor, and heard what she was hoping not to. Complete clean tear. Right before her senior year.
Instead of getting surgery right away like her first one, Leandra decided to not get surgery this time so she can play her senior year of high school. All she had to do was always wear that brace. Equipped with her brace and heart, LeeLo went out and played her senior year of high school successfully with over a .400 batting average.
After her surgery that summer going into her freshman year, LeeLo was more than ready to start her career of college softball at Garden City Junior College in Arkansas, eight hours away from home. Being away from home was tough to adjust to the first couple of weeks, especially since Arkansas was very different than Texas. Despite the differences in lifestyles, Leandra was playing second base and hit second as a slapper for her team.
Everything was going great for Leandra, she was in her sophomore season, she was playing second base and hitting .233 with 12 runs scored and six stolen bases appearing in the first twenty-four games of the season. Then it happened a third time.
It was the middle of her sophomore season, when she was put in centerfield to play. Just like the first time she tore her first acl, she and the the other fielder were going for a ball and when the ball hit the fence, she planted and pivoted her cleat, POP. This time it was her left knee. Her left knee was the “good” knee, where she knew was her strongest and what she favored when playing to support herself on. Complete tear through her left acl. She was out for the rest of the season. “This third time was probably the hardest for me because I was getting looked at by colleges to transfer next year. I had an offer to a division two college in Oklahoma and the coach took away my scholarship once he heard, because he thought I wouldn’t come back strong enough.”
Leandra got the surgery and was out the rest of the season and then the whole next season. She took this time to get herself mentally and physically strong, so she can finish out her next two years playing college softball. She had a strength and conditioning trainer to help her gain that confidence back and getting comfortable relying on both legs.
“I would wake up every morning emailing and calling college coaches because I still wanted to get the chance to play. I was trying to find a college that would give me a chance.” Leandra stumbled upon NYIT by accident, and then reached out to Coach Christianson. “He liked my story and drive to play, and my speed that I gained despite my setbacks.”
Leandra committed to NYIT and is here to play the next two years.
Opening up her fall season, Leandra was about to step on the field for a collegiate game the first time in over a year, at none only then Army in West Point. Surrounded by probably the toughest girls in the state, LeeLo was not only nervous but excited to finally play a game in over a year. Leandra had a successful fall season with the Bears and is more than ready and excited to undergo the official season this March. “I feel more at home here than I ever did on a team, my teammates and I get along so well, they are like my sisters. I already have a second family here in New York.”
Leandra is ready to start her junior season at New York Institute of Technology in Old Westbury, NY, where she will be slapping and playing the outfield for the Bears. “I am very excited to get the chance to play again and work for the ECC Championship with my teammates.”
It was through her tough journey that led her to where she is today, fulfilling her dream playing college softball, all the way in New York. Sometimes things happen for a reason and are meant to teach life lessons, and what Leandra has overcome and learned has made her mentally and physically stronger than she ever thought. This proves that softball is not just a game, it also teaches you how to deal with the curveballs in life.
-Sofia Evangelista
