Kelly M. Sylvester leads the Fighting Owls Softball program in her third year as their head coach. Sylvester has been steadily growing the softball program, consistent with her vision of a team united in purpose and committed to excellence. The 2018 season will mark the first time in program history that Harford Softball will compete in a full NJCAA DI schedule with 58 regular season games.
In Sylvester’s second season, the Fighting Owls Softball freshman dominant softball team finished the regular season 22-22 and placed 4
th in MDJUCO conference (11-7). This 44 game season marked the most softball games played in program history and their record earned them an NJCAA X/XX Regional appearance. The Owls won the Region opener against the 2-seed host team, USC Salkhatchie, in extra innings, which put them one win shy of the Region Finals. In addition to their on the field success, this Fighting Owls Softball team earned a NJCAA Team Academic Excellence Award for their 3.02 GPA.
Since Coach Sylvester came to Harford, the Fighting Owls Softball program has been crushing it academically. In her first year, they raised their GPA by 0.71. In her three years, 10 student-athletes earned NJCAA All-Academic Award; 7 student-athletes named MDJUCO All-Academic and 21 student-athletes getting recognized on the Athletic Director Honor Roll.
On the field success of the Fighting Owls Softball student-athletes under Coach Sylvester include: All-Conference 1
st Team – pitchers, Amanda Hildebrandt (2016) and Emily Bowler (2017); All-Conference 2
nd Team – pitcher Alexis Valentine (2017) and catcher Emily Wikane (2016 & 2017); Pitcher Emily Bowler & Catcher Emily Wikane named All-Tournament Region X/XX 2017; In 2016, pitcher Amanda Hildebrandt tied for third with school’s record with 12 single season wins and placed 4
th in school ranking recording 91 strikeouts; In 2017, pitchers Emily Bowler ranked 6
th and Alexis Valentine tied for 7
th for Harford Softball’s single season wins (10 and 9 respectively); same season Emily Bowler ranked 2
nd in Harford Softball and top twenty in NJCAA DI for her 148 strikeouts, while Alexis Valentine’s 72 strikeout earned her the 7
th ranking in Harford Softball; 2017 Harford Softball’s Single Season Hits Records include: #1 Alexis Valentine (72); #2 Lindsay Bowler (61); #3 Caroline Frank (54); #7 Emily Bowler (52); and #8 Emily Wikane (50).
Prior to accepting the Head Coach position, Sylvester spent the previous two years as Penn State-Berks assistant softball coach. In both seasons, Berks won the NEAC conference championship and competed in the NCAA Regional Tournament. Coach Sylvester primarily served as the pitcher, catcher and outfielder coach. The accomplishments of Berks’ pitching staff included: two NEAC South Division Pitcher-of-the Year awards,16 shut-outs, including a perfect game with 11 strike-outs, and a collective ERA that ranked in the top 25% nationally.
Sylvester is a proud member of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association, and is freelance softball instructor, working softball camps through Pennsylvania State University, Kent State University and Lehigh University, and primarily giving lessons through Keystone State Baseball and Softball Academy. She earned two Master of Education degrees (sports management and English) from Millersville University and was the Moment of Reflection Speaker at Commencement. Sylvester received a Bachelor of Arts in linguistics from Brooklyn College, and during her senior season, she was the pitch-calling catcher for a phenomenal lefty, Jaime Bellettini. Their pitching-catching synergy resulted in Bellettini’s 2.24 ERA and ranking 2
nd nationally in NCAA DIII for her 12.7 Strikeout Average per seven innings. After that 2006 season, Sylvester relocated from New York City to Lancaster County, Pa., where she currently resides.
| Harford Record |
| Year |
Record |
| 2017 |
23-24 |
| 2016 |
12-26 |
| Total |
35-50 |
