By Steve Svetovich

Lindsey Leppo had a decision to make four years ago. Coming from a public school she wasn’t sure if the transition to a private school would be an easy one.

But four years later the recent Holy Cross High School graduate said she made the best decision of her life.

Daughter of Jim and Denise Leppo, Lindsey, 18, hit .335 as the starting shortstop for the Holy Cross Lady Crusaders Lackawanna League District 2 title team.

A four year member of the Lady Crusaders softball team, Lindsey is now a major part of two consecutive district titles.

Holy Cross defeated Old Forge, 5-3, Thursday, May 31, at the University of Scranton’s Magis Field to earn this year’s district title.

As one of the senior captains, Lindsey’s impact on the team came both on and off the field.

“I came from a public school (West Scranton Intermediate) to a Catholic school four years ago,” she said. “At the time, I was a little nervous and not sure if I made the right decision.

“Four years later, I would never change my decision. I played four years of softball here and made many friends. It has been such a great experience.

“It was the best decision I ever made in my life.”

Now a Dunmore resident, Lindsey looks forward to the PIAA Class 2A playoffs and will take her star to Kings College in the fall. She will major in business and economics and play on the Kings softball team.

“Our plan the whole year at Holy Cross was to come out on top,” she said. “We were waiting for this to happen. I am so happy about winning this district championship. We were underestimated in the beginning of the year.

“Our goal now is to keep winning in the state playoffs. We just can’t overdo it. We have to go with the flow and do our thing on the field.”

Lindsey, always positive and upbeat, said she learned so much from Holy Cross softball coach Joe Ross.

“He is my favorite coach ever,” she said. “He taught me how to deal with adversity. He told me to worry about the process and not the results. And then everything will fall into place.”

The scholar-athlete said her parents teach her “to always keep going and never give up.”

Lindsey talked about what it takes to be a successful shortstop in high school softball. “It takes a lot of communication on the field. And you need to develop a lot of confidence. If you have that, you have half your game down.”

The scrappy shortstop finished her senior year with a 3.2 grade point average. She was a member of the Language Club, the Service Club and a 2-year member of Student Council.

Her sister Lauren graduated from Holy Cross in 2015 and was also a standout member of the softball team. She currently plays softball for Wilkes.

Another sister Leah will enter Holy Cross as a freshman in the fall and will play softball.

Lindsey said she enjoys listening to music in her spare time and is a huge fan of reggae and the late Bob Marley.

She looks forward to the state playoffs and attending Kings in the fall.

“For now we want to keep winning as we go into the state playoffs. Then I am looking forward to playing four more years of softball at Kings and then doing something in the finance field.”