SHARPSVILLE, Pa. (WKBN) – It was a huge day for the Sharpsville softball program as three seniors signed to play at the Division I level: Izzie Candiotti, Lily Palko and Keeley Whitaker.
After posting a nearly .500 batting average as a junior, Candiotti made her choice of Robert Morris official.
“It’s a long and it’s a tough road, like recruiting but having knowing what I’m doing and knowing that, like, where I’m going, I know what I need to get to to get there,” Candiotti said. “It’s like just such a weight off your shoulders.”
She was joined by Keeley Whitaker, a key starter on the 2023 District 10 championship team before missing her junior year due to injury, who signed to play for the Bryant Bulldogs.
“I’m super excited, I’ve been playing with them since we were eight or nine, so sharing this experience with them I think is super special,” Whitaker said. “This has been a dream of mine since I was a little kid so finally getting to fulfill it is just an all time excitement for me.”
Then of course, standout Lily Palko is headed to Ann Arbor to join the successful Michigan Wolverine program.
“It just means like we all work so hard to achieve our goals and the fact that we got to do it together is pretty amazing,” Palko said. “It’s just a message to little girls out there that if you work hard, that you can achieve anything and yeah it’s really great and I’m really thankful for all of it.”
This trio of Blue Devils will have plenty of time to prepare for their final softball season as they seek a second D-10 title in their four years.
