John Glenn softball standout Hannah Bendle to attend Saint Francis University

Kevin Sutton, The Daily Jeffersonian
·4 min read
John Glenn senior Hannah Bendle signed her Letter of Intent on Thursday afternoon to attend St. Francis University to continue both her academic and softball careers. Seated: Mitch Bendle, Hannah Bendle, Summer Bendle. Standing: John Glenn softball coaches, Steve Cowgill, Randy Larrick, Kyle Porter
John Glenn senior Hannah Bendle signed her Letter of Intent on Thursday afternoon to attend St. Francis University to continue both her academic and softball careers. Seated: Mitch Bendle, Hannah Bendle, Summer Bendle. Standing: John Glenn softball coaches, Steve Cowgill, Randy Larrick, Kyle Porter

NEW CONCORD −John Glenn senior softball standout Hannah Bendle likes to win, and has done plenty of that the last two years on the diamond playing for the talented Lady Muskies under former head coach Randy 'Big Coach' Larrick.

Bendle, the daughter of Mitch and Summer Bendle, was a key part of the Lady Muskies 2021 Regional Championship, 2022 Regional Runner-Up and two-time Eastern District Champion squads.

Bendle, a three-year letterman, put up some lofty numbers from the lead-off spot for the potent John Glenn offense, who hit .569 with 18 doubles, six triples and eight home runs last season as a junior. During her sophomore campaign, Bendle hit a school program-record 18 home runs. Bendle missed her freshmen year due to COVID-19 pandemic.

Last season Bendle was recognized for her stellar play with numerous accolades including First Team All-Ohio, East District Player of the Year, First Team East District, First Team MVL, MVL Big School Player of the Year. Following her sophomore year, Bendle received First All-Ohio, East District Player of the Year, First Team East District,  Unanimous First Team MVL, First Team MaxPreps Underclass All-American

So it's no surprise, when Bendle starting looking at colleges to continue both her academic and softball careers she was looking for a strong softball program and strong academic school.

Bendle thinks she found that right spot and recently signed her Letter-of-Intent to attend Saint Francis University, an NCAA Division I school located in Loretto, Pennsylvania.

"I was looking for a team with a winning tradition, that was one of the main things in my decision because I wanted to join a team who like to compete and competes to win," Bendle explained. "And I found that with Saint Francis, I also loved the campus because even though it's Division I. It's a small campus and I love the coaching staff, so all that together made me decide to sign with Saint Francis."

Bendle explained she also visited Robert Morris University, but after she visited Saint Francis that pretty much ended her search for a new home.

Saint Francis is ranked No. 47 in D - I softball top 50 programs in the country under head coach Jessica O'Donnell. The Red Flash have won five straight conference titles advancing to the NCAA Regionals including this past spring losing to No. 3 ranked Virginia Tech 4-0 at the Virginia Tech Regional.  "Hannah checks all the boxes. She's an amazing student, great person, very coachable and locked in on every play. Hannah was our first commit in this class and we were thrilled to welcome her to the Red Flash family," said O'Donnell on the Saint Francis University website "What stood out most about Hannah was that she never takes a play off and plays her heart out on every play. Hannah is very consistent and strong at the plate and defensively makes big plays. She will fit in well with our style of play here in Loretto."

An honor roll student, Bendle intends to major in Occupational Therapy upon her arrival to Saint Francis.

"I'm going into the Occupational Therapy program which is a five year masters program," Bendle said. "And while I'm there I hope to figure out what exactly I want to do with my degree. Because there are lots of different types of occupational therapy and different ways I can use it."

But before she leaves John Glenn, Bendle is hoping for one more big softball season with her Lady Muskies teammates under new head coach Steve Cowgill, who served as Larrick's right hand man the last three years and now takes the reigns of the JG softball program.

"We are looking for big things this year at John Glenn," Bendle stated. "And our goal is to take it one step at a time and work to win as many games as we can. I would love to make another great tournament run with my teammates for my senior year. It's just so much fun to play with my best friends and I'm really excited for the upcoming season."

KSutton1@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on The Daily Jeffersonian: John Glenn softball standout Hannah Bendle to attend Saint Francis University