It does not happen every day that a sophomore will walk on to a Division I intercollegiate team and have an immediate impact. In most cases it seems that someone who has been away from the sport for more than a year will not have the desire to pick it back up or would be behind after having a year away from the activity.

This has not been the case, however, for one UD athlete. Junior Mollie Schrank actually has sophomore standing on the Flyers women's softball team for this year, as she is only up to her second year of eligibility. Her lack of experience on the Division I level is not something that is holding her back, though, as Schrank has already had a great impact in the thriving program.

Schrank did not play softball her first year at UD. Besides playing intramurals, she was not really exposed to the sport as much as she wanted and decided to look into trying out for the varsity team the following fall.

'Coming in as a freshman I thought I was ready to be done with softball and just be a student,' Schrank said. 'But I was so used to being active that freshman year I had way to much time on my hands and was bored not being involved in anything. I missed playing softball a lot. After my freshman year I decided I would just try out to see what happened.'

Schrank was experienced, however, in playing softball. A graduate of Fairfield High School in southwest Ohio, she had been named All-Conference and All-City her last two years of high school.

Lucky for both Scrank and the UD softball program, her talent in the sport allowed her a walk-on spot on the team.

'I didn't know if I had any chance of making the team, but I knew I had to at least try so that way I would know I tried and not always wonder 'what if' the rest of my life,' she added.

Taking that risk has been a beneficial one for the Flyers. Schrank played 48 games last season, starting 42 of them, and earned a .344 batting average, the best on the team. She was also third on the team with 44 hits in her rookie season. In her first season, Schrank earned the distinction of being named to the 2006 Atlantic 10 Conference All Rookie Team and was a Second Team selection in the whole A-10 as well.

'I think a lot of my success can be attributed to my coaches and teammates confidence in me,' said Schrank about her accolades. 'I had a lot of help with my hitting from our assistant coach, too, and just a lot of positive encouragement from everyone.'

Now with her second year on the team about to start, Schrank is working to make improvements every day. With a team goal of qualifying for the A-10 tournament and an individual goal of continued personal improvement, Schrank is ready to step up and work to represent UD softball in a competitive and respectful manner.

'Individually this year I want to improve in the outfield, play more aggressively and make diving catches,' she said. 'Offensively I hope to start where I left off last year, get on base and just make things happen. As a team we want to make it to the A-10 tournament and to win other games as well. We hope to just keeping improving throughout the season and from last year.'

Schrank's teammates also know how hard she will work to fulfill all the goals set by her and the group. Having become a large influence on the team, Schrank will not settle for being anything less than her best.

'When she's having a bad practice, she knows it and wants more than anything to fix what is going wrong,' freshman Katie O'Brien said. 'I guess Mollie's role would be that of a silent leader. She probably wouldn't agree with me, but I consider her to have a huge impact on our team.'

As that silent leader on the team, Schrank will look to motivate her teammates as soon as games begin this year. With seven games already being cancelled this season due to weather, the Flyer softball season will definitely get under way over spring break. UD will travel to Orlando, Fla., for the Orlando Rebel Games to take on teams from all over the country. Conference play begins at home against UMass at the end of March. Her second season with the Flyer softball team is about to begin and Schrank will settle for nothing but the best. Make sure you see her and all the members of the team play in what could be a very competitive and exciting season.