By Steve Svetovich

The world is her oyster.

Holy Cross junior softball pitcher Jenna Bradley is putting together a season for the ages as she pitches her team to the district finals against Northwest.

Daughter of Josh and Jenn Bradley, the talented junior had a 17-3 pitching record at press time. She totaled an astounding 272 strikeouts and a miniscule 1.02 ERA at press time.

Jenna fired a shutout, 2-0, with 16 strikeouts in the district semifinal win over Mountain View.

She has a double figure strikeout total in every game she pitched this season except a shortened three-inning contest.

Jenna also is tearing the league apart as a hitter. She was hitting .533 with seven homers and 25 RBIs at press time.

And Jenna excels in the classroom too. She has a 4.06 grade point average with dual enrollment at Marywood University as an IHM scholar. She will earn 18 college credits through the IHM scholar program when she graduates high school.

She is junior class president and a member of the student council advisory board at Holy Cross. She is a member of the National Honor Society and a member of the foreign languages club.

Jenna has committed to the University of Massachusetts at Amherst for the fall of 2020. She will play softball and study sports management with a goal of getting into the Eisenberg School of Business.

Jenna, who used to ride horses competitively, said she owes a lot of success to her parents. “They tell me to put the work in and good things will happen. At the end of the day you will be successful if you work hard. They tell me to play hard all the time and work equally hard in school. They are always there for me.”

Jenna said Holy Cross veteran baseball coach Joe Ross, who came from a baseball family in Green Ridge, teaches her a lot.

“He tells us to not get wrapped up in the nonsense. Take one pitch at a time. Enjoy the game. Keep things simple. Put your work in. Have fun.”

Jenna, an All Regional selection as a pitcher last season, also plays first base where she was honorable mention as a freshman. She is widely considered one of the top softball players in the area.

She attributes the success of the team to her teammates. “We fight right to the end. A lot of people underestimated us because we are young. We did this playing for each other and not as individuals. We make each other better.

Jenna, well spoken, confident and humble in nature, talked about her personal success. “I play because I love the game. It keeps me level headed. I surround myself with people and teammates who make me better.

“I have played through adversity and overcomed it. When someone says you can’t do something or accomplish something, you work even harder.”

Jenna said she likes music and would like to see country artist George Strait in concert.

With a strong intellect, she talked about her future goals.

“Well, I am committed to play Division I softball at the University of Massachusetts and want to perform well. I would like to complete my degree and then get into marketing maybe for NIke or Under Armor. Eventually, I would like to own and operate my own sports facility where I could coach and be a part of a recruiting process for other young softball players. I would like to help develop and recruit young players. That would be my ultimate goal.”