Fairmont Senior's Hose headed to Medaille University
Dec. 7—FAIRMONT — A Polar Bear is heading further north.
Fairmont Senior's Mikayla Hose signed with Medaille University softball on Tuesday, marking yet another college signee from a Polar Bear softball program that has turned around thanks to players like Hose.
Medaille, located in Buffalo, New York, appealed to Hose because of her connections at the school — connections that helped overcome the geographic distance.
"I had a travel teammate who committed there and I'm looking forward to playing with her next year," Hose said. "She was my pitcher, and I was her catcher, it's a bond I'm looking forward to continuing."
Dan Opera, Medaille's head coach entering his sixth season with the Mavericks, recruited Hose after the Fairmont Senior catcher first reached out to him.
"I was looking into it, since she [Hose's teammate] was going there," Hose said. "So I sent an email and he said he was already aware of me — we play tournaments in Buffalo, so it just kind of went from there and he came and saw me play a couple of times."
Through two seasons of varsity softball, Hose has hit .262 with a .348 on-base percentage and .347 slugging percentage. Hose stole 15 bases last season and established herself as one of Class-AA's elite defensive catchers, with just two errors in 119 total chances.
Hose made all-state second team in 2021.
The decision to play at Medaille University was a fulfilment of a lifelong dream for Hose.
"Ever since I started playing softball, that was my goal, to play in college," Hose said. "And it just happened that this was the place I wanted to continue at."
Hose was at the forefront of turning Fairmont Senior into a winning softball program, alongside players like Liz Murphy and Mikayla Shepherd, both of whom signed on to college programs last year.
The Polar Bears finished 15-11 last season.
"I had some great teammates, and there's been a couple that've gone on to play college ball," Shepherd said. "I've played against some really good competition at other schools and it's helped me grow and become a better player."
With her senior year still ahead of her, Hose hopes her jump to collegiate competition can turn into a trend for her Polar Bear teammates.
"You don't get to see it a lot from here. We've had a couple girls play in college before but the softball program hasn't really been big until these last couple years," Hose said. "I really hope the younger girls see it and realize it can be done."
Reach Nick Henthorn at 304-367-2548, on Twitter @nfhenthorn_135 or by email at nhenthorn@timeswv.com.
