New York Rise Cap off their First Tournament with a Trophy

A new professional softball team finds a home on Long Island as the New York Rise and they’re the first professional softball team in New York. The Rise will play all their home games at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y. The New York Rise are one of four teams in the Association of Fastpitch Professionals, joining the Oklahoma City Spark, Chattanooga Steam and Florida Vibe.

Just one week after the roster was assembled and only two days of practice, the Rise won their first tournament in Chattanooga, Tenn, the Inaugural Scenic City Pro Cup Championship. The women were crowned champions on Sunday, June 23, after their 9-1 win over the Spark.

“We saw all of the teams that we’re going to be facing and we know that on any day, it’s anyone’s ballgame,” said New York Rise assistant coach Lisa “L.I.” Iancin. “Every game that we played was a tough competition. We were in a lot of one-run games…we had a one-run lead and a two-run home run changed the outcome. This means as a coach we need to stay humble and we have to stay present.”

Iancin noticed the team bonding from the very first moment she saw them play.

“The wacky cheers that were coming out of the dugout that last game in Chattanooga against the Spark and hearing them come up with those quirky cheers for each other was kind of cute,” Ianciin said. “At that point everyone had been in the lineup at some point, so everyone had a chance to display who they were and what they’re bringing to the table.”

Some may say these women are like family to one another in just this short amount of time.

“Everyone is so comfortable with one another, respects one another and all want to be here for the same thing”

“You would think we all knew each other for five years,” said Rise outfielder/infielder Kayla Wedl. “Everyone is so comfortable with one another, respects one another and all want to be here for the same thing, so that made this that much easier to bond.”

Long Island Native, former Hofstra University right-handed pitcher who then transferred to the University of Alabama, Sarah Cornell comes back home to live out her lifelong dream of playing softball professionally.

“This is a full circle moment,” said Cornell. “I get to be back in my hometown, I get to show all of these girls around Long Island, I get to see my family and friends and they get to come and watch me play, it’s just a surreal moment.”

Jenna Laird is welcomed back to Long Island with open arms as the East Meadow native finished her last season at the University of Missouri this past spring. Laird returns to Bill Edwards Stadium, home of the Hofstra University Pride where she faced off against Hofstra back on March 26 of this year.

“It [playing professionally at home] means so much,” said Laird. “I was originally committed to Hofstra before I went to Missouri, so I was going to be playing there but now I am playing there. It’s so cool to be able to do this in front of friends and family and even the little girls that look up to me from here, I get to finally play in front of them.”

The Rise’s passion and determination is undeniable. Iancin raved about how her and the rest of the coaching staff managed to get these women to buy into their beliefs, process and system so quickly.

“We were very fortunate how it worked out,” Iancin said. “They are already self motivated so our job was to provide them with an arena to be seen and show what they have to offer individually and they as a team seem to naturally come together. You could hear it in the dugout in the championship game, even if they were on the bench and someone was going in for a pinch-hit, they were loud. Hannah Gammill was loud, she was bringing a lot of energy so that the Spark team knew that we were going to be tenacious all throughout the game.”

No team is perfect and winning a championship so soon after being rostered is an accomplishment, but the season begins in under one week. While there are some positives to build upon from their championship run, there are some things that need to be sharpened up to add another trophy to their collection.

“There’s a lot of positives for sure since we came away with a championship, but we know we’re a good hitting team and a good pitching team,” said New York Rise first baseman Ashley Trierweiler. “Continuing to build on the momentum we have from the last game offensively, our bats were on fire and the hits kept coming, so I think that’s huge. I can’t think of any obvious negatives but keeping things sharp, continuing to have good at-bats, locking in on defense and keeping everything clean.”

The Rise begin their first season on Monday, July 1 at Hofstra University against the Florida Vibe. First pitch is at 7 p.m.