KUTZTOWN, PA (May 12, 2010) -- In an old Bugs Bunny cartoon, Bugs helps lead his team to victory over the Gashouse Gorillas by playing all nine positions on the baseball field simultaneously.  The Golden Bears may not have a player capable of covering an entire softball field all by herself, but they do have junior Krista Tedjeske, a player so versatile that she has been penciled in the line-up at five of the nine different positions for Kutztown so far this season.

Every successful team needs a player like Tedjeske, who resembles a Swiss-army knife with her team-first attitude. The peripatetic Tedjeske has seamlessly switched between positions with the ease of brushing dirt off of a shoulder. Tedjeske has shined for the Bears wherever she's placed on the diamond, whether at first base, second base, shortstop, third base or rightfield.

You get the feeling if veteran coach Judy Lawes asked the art education major to manicure the field, mow the grass and announce names that Tedjeske would do so with a smile, and go about finding her inner Harry Kalas.

“I love playing softball and whatever position I am playing, I am going to play to the best of my ability,” Tedjeske said. “At the start of the game, I just get into the mindset that I am going to play hard and do whatever I can to do to help our team win.”

As an added bonus, Tedjeske's bat has heated up lately. Over Kutztown's last 10 games, she is batting .393 with 11 hits, nine runs batted in and one memorable walk-off home run in a 3-2 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) playoff victory over Edinboro. That stretch is impressive considering that half of those games were against sixth-ranked Bloomsburg.

More importantly, Tedjeske has drawn four walks and she has displayed tremendous plate discipline. Overall, the Golden Bears have several hot hitters as they enter the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional for the eighth consecutive season. Third-seeded Kutztown (41-16 overall) battles Shepherd University Friday afternoon at Cal's Lilly Field beginning at 2:30 p.m. (CLICK HERE FOR ATLANTIC REGION HOMEPAGE)

In addition to Tedjeske, Katie Lynch (.471), Heather Hannum (.407), Nicole Colineri(.400), Maria Schiavo (.371) and Brianna Knipe (.370) are all hitting over .300 in Kutztown's last 10 games. With her quiet demeanor, Tedjeske is easy to overlook, but Lawes recognized her value by presenting her with the prestigious coaches award for her effort and hard work.

“She's all about the team,” Lawes said. “She was the starting shortstop the last two years, but we had some injuries this season and she had to move to first base. Wherever she is playing on the field, we don't miss a beat. The second half of the season, her hitting has come on which is important. She is a quiet leader but a leader and she's been a force out there for us.”

With nine freshmen on the team this season, Tedjeske has led by example. Her effort on and off the field is a perfect model for anybody to follow. Yet, despite losing several key players from last season's squad that advanced to the super regionals, Tedjeske knew that everybody would blend together like a tropical fruit smoothie. She didn't spend a lot of time at the beginning of the season explaining to the freshmen about playing on this level.

“We started with a young team, but now I believe everybody is experienced,” Tedjeske said. “I like feel we came through and won a lot of close games. Everybody showed a lot of character and did a great job. The team proved that they could come through in tough situations. The only thing I would tell the freshmen before games was 'to relax and that you're all great athletes so it's just matter of going out and playing the game.”

Tedjeske has the perfect getaway from softball. She spends a lot of her free time painting, creating ceramics and weaving. Her favorite class is Ceramics and now Tedjeske is planning to minor in crafts. She has entered numerous craft shows during the last few years.

“It really helps relax me,” Tedjeske said. “You have your mind on a big game and maybe you didn't have a good game and you need to get away, take out some frustration and relax. I'll start painting or get on the potters ball and work on a pot or a weave. It's a big stress reliever and it helps me in many ways.”

Tedjeske has been a major cog in the Golden Bears' machine during their most successful era. Kutztown has won 178 games over the last four years. Tedjeske has been present for 135 of those triumphs. This season, Tedjeske recorded her 100th career hit. She has collected 118 hits and driven home 74 runs during her career. With five more hits this season, Tedjeske will set a single season career high for hits in a season. The 29 RBIs are already a career best for Tedjeske.

“It's a great honor to be part of a good program here at Kutztown,” Tedjeske said. “We're excited to play in the NCAA Atlantic Regional again. We've been focusing on our fundamentals during practice and doing the little things right like making good throws and watching the ball into the glove. Also, we've been working on bunts and all the basics.”

--KU--