By Mark Sosna

A coach’s dream. An opponent’s nightmare. A great teammate. A strikeout machine. A medical marvel. Kayleigh Lotti was all those things and more during a remarkable four year pitching career at Hofstra University. But most importantly, she was a winner - on and off the field.

“The reason I coach is to have people like her,” Hofstra softball coach Bill Edwards said. “She is a very, very special young lady. I marvel at her abilities and how she was able to come back from what she went through in high school.”

 

What Lotti went through may have stopped other athletes from realizing their dreams, but not her. She was 17 and had just led her St. Raphael’s Academy team to the Rhode Island state championship in her junior year. She tossed 14 no-hitters and struck out 261 batters.

The last place she ever imagined she would end up was a hospital operating room, but that’s where she found herself in September 2004. Lotti experienced pain in her right arm while pitching in a summer showcase in Colorado. Doctors at a walk-in clinic recommended she see a cardiologist, which she did upon returning home to Massachusetts. It was determined that Lotti had a narrowing of the aorta, which was restricting blood flow to her lower body. The condition was making her heart pump harder, thereby elevating her blood pressure. Surgery was necessary.

“At first, I didn’t really know how serious it was,” Lotti said. “I wasn’t nervous until they put the intravenous in my arm. I saw my dad start to cry and he never cries.”

The surgery was a success. Doctors went in through Lotti’s back in order to preserve muscles that would allow her to pitch again. It left just a small scar behind her shoulder. “It’s barely noticeable; if someone does see it, I like to tell them I was attacked by a shark,” Lotti said with a laugh.

But she wasn’t laughing when it came to her rehab. She was determined to once again be the dominating hurler that had Hofstra and other colleges very interested. “She was in the backyard throwing three weeks after the surgery,” her father, Dave Lotti, said. “She had to basically start over and regain her strength. She was throwing in the mid-60’s before the surgery and was probably in the 30’s when she started throwing again.”

Through hard work and the support of her family, Lotti was able to again reach the peak. As a senior, she pitched her high school squad to another state title, tossing a perfect game in the semis and a no-hitter in the final. She chose to attend Hofstra and her legend continued to grow in Hempstead.

In her collegiate debut, she tossed a no-hitter vs. Temple. She was named to the Colonial Athletic Association All-Rookie Team. From her sophomore year until the end of her senior campaign, Lotti earned 14 CAA Pitcher of the Week accolades, a conference record. She was selected CAA Pitcher of the Year following her sophomore, junior and senior years. Her 979 career strikeouts are a Hofstra record, shattering the old mark of 638. She fanned 10 or more batters in a game more than 35 times. Lotti amassed 82 victories (2^nd on Hofstra’s career list) and logged over 800 innings in the circle. In May, she was named the recipient of the Dr. Nathalie J. Smith Award, presented annually to Hofstra’s top female student-athlete.

“I’m not surprised at all she’s been this good,” said catcher Carolann Lubach, a fellow senior who caught more than 200 games for the Pride during a standout four-year career. “She has natural abilities and combined that with a mental toughness. I had heard a lot about her when I came here and she was everything I expected.”

As she gets ready to move on from Hofstra, Lotti, who is considering graduate school, could not be happier the way her softball career and life have unfolded. “Playing here has been an amazing experience,” she said. “A few years ago, I didn’t know if I would ever pitch again, so I’m thankful for that. I’ve had some of the best teammates anyone could want. They always pick me up.”

Edwards agreed. “When Kayleigh committed here, I saw four years of competitive softball against the top teams in the country,” Edwards said. “It is a testimony to her character and her will that she performed the way she did. This young lady stared down adversity and I’m just so blessed, as is the entire Hofstra community, that she was here.”

Dave Lotti, who missed only about 10 games of his daughter’s collegiate career, is thrilled she chose to play for the Pride. “I knew she would learn life lessons there,” he said. “The coaching staff and the entire university have been so good to my daughter and my family. We couldn’t be happier the way it’s turned out. Kayleigh’s given us a lifetime of memories.”

Hofstra feels the same way.