A fter completing a record-setting pitching career at the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, Michelle Pietrocola will be heading off to Duke University’s Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner program later this month to begin work on her master’s degree.
The North Brunswick Township High School resident graduated from Richard Stockton this spring after helping the Ospreys softball team to a second successive Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) tournament championship.
As a senior, Pietrocola led the team in wins with 17, while compiling 221 strikeouts, which was also tops on the team, in 170.1 innings of work with a 1.60 ERA. She also came on in relief to save two games. In addition, her hits allowed per seven innings, a good barometer of a starting pitcher’s effectiveness, was 3.78, second in all of NCAA Division III. Overall, Richard Stockton went 26-16. As a junior, Pietrocola won 18 games and was named the ECAC Tournament’s MVP as she helped the Ospreys set a team record with 33 victories.
Over her four years, Pietrocola recorded a 53-23 mark, setting team records for wins, strikeouts (611), complete games (52), appearances (96) and innings pitched (498.1). Despite all of her accomplishments on the mound, one of Pietrocola’s most memorable moments came at the plate.
“Coach [Val] Julien doesn’t like to have her pitchers hit because she doesn’t want us to get hurt,” Pietrocola said. “I was trying to convince her to let me hit. Late in the season, coach finally did. I ended up hitting a grand slam.”
Pietrocola began playing softball at the age of 8, and she gradually began playing travel ball. As her skills improved, she began taking pitching lessons and started playing the game year-round. She began attracting interest from colleges as she helped North Brunswick’s team to berths in the Greater Middlesex Conference and state sectional tournaments.
“I always wanted to become a nurse, and most of the coaches who spoke to me were leery about the course load,” Pietrocola said. “When I discussed the situation with coach Julien, she just said, ‘We’ll make it work.’ And she did.”
It wasn’t always easy, of course. Besides her regular classes, Pietrocola was required to spend at least 20 hours each week doing clinical work at regional hospitals. Then there was softball, which generally included either a practice or a game six days each week. Also, as part of Richard Stockton’s honors program, Pietrocola was required to maintain at least a 3.3 grade-point average. She ended up at 3.52.
“It was tough juggling everything,” she said. “My clinical was mostly Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, which meant Tuesdays and Thursdays were for classes. Our games were usually on Tuesday or Thursday. I have to say my professors were so helpful in making sure I had every opportunity to succeed.”
This occasionally meant spending extra time with professors and keeping disciplined to maintain a very tight schedule. It also included having classmates tape record classes. This was all in addition to volunteering for events like the Relay for Life, Stockton’s Women in Sports Day and playing softball with disabled children.
“There were times when I’d get back to the dorm after a game and I’d go turn on the tape,” Pietrocola said. “But it was an experience I’ll never forget.”
Along the way, Pietrocola decided that she wanted to become a nurse practitioner and applied to both Duke and the University of Connecticut. She was accepted by both schools, opting for Duke.
Pietrocola credits her parents, Rich and Kathy, for supporting her both academically and athletically.
“They’re still always there for me,” she said.
After playing softball for so long, Pietrocola could not just stop following the Richard Stockton season. She currently competes in the New Jersey Women’s Fast Pitch League and is hoping to find a way to help out the club team at Duke.