February 19, 2024
Trailblazing Beyond the Diamond: The Post-Softball Journeys of East Ridge’s 2023 Fab 5
By Kyle Coppola
Trailblazing Beyond the Diamond: The Post-Softball Journeys of East Ridge’s 2023 Fab 5
Last year’s East Ridge Girls Softball team, affectionately known as the FAB 5, consisted of Grace Avery, Lacia Deleslin, Alyssa Filmer, Kaitlyn Oikle, and Thalia Romero. These girls had a great year in 2023, and each one of them is thriving in college.
The East Ridge High School girls softball team finished 16-10 overall last year, successfully making the FHSAA Softball State Championships in Class 7A. While they experienced an early exit in the opening round of the state championships, this team had a lot to be proud of. Let’s take a look at where these girls ended up after their high school careers.
Grace Avery is majoring in Business while playing for the Seahawks at Wagner College in Staten Island, New York. Last year, Grace had 9 RBIs, 17 hits, and boasted a .307 batting average.
Lacia Deleslin – Is majoring in Pre-Physical Therapy while also playing softball for the Rattlers at Florida A&M in Tallahassee, Florida. Deleslin played in 21 games last year for the Lady Knights and led the team in RBIs with 24. She scored 19 runs and will be fun to watch this season for FAMU.
Alyssa Filmer – Is majoring in Nursing while playing for the Titans at St. Petersburg College in St. Petersburg, Florida. Filmer scored 14 runs for East Ridge last year and produced 17 hits.
Kaitlyn Oikie – Is majoring in Computer Science while playing softball for the Bulldogs at Yale in New Haven, Connecticut.
Thalia Romero – Is majoring in Elementary Education while playing for the Warriors at Webber International University in Babson Park, Florida. Romero had the best batting average on the team with a .479 last season. She produced 29 runs, which led the team, and 34 hits. She had 11 doubles, which also led the team.
It is so cool to see where all of these girls have gone. We are thrilled to see their success at the next level. Each one of them will be future leaders in their respective majors. Congratulations to each one of them, and we look forward to watching them compete in 2024! #LadyKnightsAlumni.
Information Credit – Shana Avery
Kyle Coppola was born in Newton, Massachusetts and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communications from Curry College in 2016. After traveling to Florida on a family vacation, he decided he could not get enough of the warm weather and made the move from snowy Massachusetts to central Florida 8 years ago.
For the last decade Kyle has gained valuable experience in social media content creation, marketing and sales, writing, video production, sports announcing and even broadcasting for local radio stations, such as FM 102.9 in The Villages and FM 91.5 in Massachusetts. Every year he volunteers at The Villages Charter High School as a play-by-play sports announcer for the football games as well as a public address announcer for the basketball games, including the annual Battle at The Villages Tournament.
Outside the office Kyle is a husband and father to two beautiful girls along with their cat. In his spare time he likes to spend time with his family, travel, play golf and swim. He is also a huge sports junkie and even bigger motorsports fan and loves to attend racing events when he can.
