Playing college softball for the first time wasn’t like setting off into the wild for Brooke Cleland.

The Penn-Trafford graduate brought her heavy bat and was prepared to make an impact from Day 1.

Her vast experience playing youth, high school and travel ball had her ready for anything. She welcomed the challenge and thrived on the pressure.

“Playing throughout my high school years, I was able to compete at the highest level, playing in the playoffs each year,” said Cleland, who just completed a productive freshman season at Seton Hill. “The last two summers, I played within the Team Pennsylvania organization, which played in very competitive summer schedule. Last summer, I was able to use the workouts that my coaches provided and continued to work individually on my hitting with my dad and coach Denny (Little), two to three times a week.”

Cleland arrived at the right time and made her presence felt. Seton Hill made it all the way to the College World Series in Denver and finished its best season at 42-12.

She played in 48 games and made 37 starts, tying for the team lead in home runs with seven. She finished second with 35 RBIs and third with a slugging percentage of .573.

The home runs were not a surprise, even if they did come in her debut season.

“She hit some moon shots (in high school),” Penn-Trafford coach Denny Little said. “See that fence behind our fence (pointing to a barrier some 240 feet away from home plate at Penn-Trafford)? She hit one over that.”

An opposing coach once said her home runs make a different sound when they come off the bat. This season had a different feel to it, and Cleland cherished every second of her rookie year.

“I was not sure what my role was going to be,” Cleland said. “I did surprise myself, but in a good way. Having the opportunity to DP as a freshman was rewarding and humbling in a way. I say that because my hard work paid off, but in the same respect, not many freshmen have this opportunity.”

Cleland homered twice in the PSAC Tournament, where the Griffins bowed out early before catching a spark and winning the Atlantic Regional and Super Regional to catapult them into the World Series.

Learning to deal with adversity has been her biggest challenge since becoming a Division II college player, she said.

“When you enter a strong program like we have, every single girl on the team can contribute in one way or another,” she said. “With such a deep roster, that can be intimidating to many, but to me it was motivating. My teammates pushed me every single day to become a better player. With the help of coach (Jess) Strong, coach (Brooke) Sullivan, and coach (Katie) Sebbane, I was able to navigate my way through the adversity and contribute.”

Cleland works at Penn Pals Child Care Center, which seems almost counter intuitive to her softball game, which has grown up fast.

The run to Denver was clearly the highest moment for Seton Hill and something Cleland will carry with her into next year — and beyond — as the Griffins look to make even more of a postseason stir.

“Not a day went by where we were was not putting in effort and getting 1% better every day,” Cleland said. “After the PSAC Tournament, our team was able to regroup and finish the season strong. … To be one of the eight teams to travel to Denver was an experience of a lifetime that I will remember forever.”

Her mental highlights keep replaying in her head, such as her first homer: a walk-off against West Liberty.

“And just being a part of a program that set many school records and made program history by finishing seventh in the country,” she said.

Cleland said she plans to be more mature at the plate next season and hopes to work her way into a starting outfield spot.

“Being able to identify pitches, stay calm at the plate, and take pitchers deep into the count when needed,” she said of the patience at the plate. “This was the biggest thing I learned from my coaches. Next season starts now for me, as well as many of my teammates.”

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