Sydney Stewart said when she visited Mount St. Joseph University, it didn’t take long for her to make up her mind where she wants to play softball following graduation from Seymour High School.

“As soon as I went on my visit there in August, it felt like home and just the right place for me,” she said.

Mount St. Joseph, with an enrollment of 1,550, is located in the suburbs of Cincinnati, Ohio.

Stewart, who was the Owls’ catcher this past spring, signed a letter of intent to play at Mount St. Joseph last week.

“They have a really beautiful campus, and it’s the right place for me,” Stewart said. “They have a turf field. The softball team last year won their conference and was pretty successful.”

Stewart likes the leadership role of playing the catcher position.

“I enjoy being behind the plate and seeing the whole field, being in charge of everyone on the field,” she said. “I like communicating with everyone. There were some instances where I called the pitches. I like calling pitches.”

She took catching lessons the past five or six years with Chaunsey Bell, who formerly played for the University of Alabama.

“We’ve worked a lot on everything,” Stewart said. “I took lessons this fall.”

Bell played her high school softball at Indianapolis Lutheran.

Stewart said the Owls will begin preparing for the 2022 season this week in the indoor facility at the high school.

Several of her travel ball coaches attended her signing last week, including two coaches with her travel team, Crush, based out of Indianapolis.

“I played with Crush for four years,” Stewart said. “Travel ball has just made me a better all-around athlete and feeling more comfortable because in travel, we play much higher competition, and that just helps a lot being overprepared for high school.”

Among her teammates with the Crush were Bailey Tabeling from Trinity Lutheran and Delaynee McCreary from Jennings County.

Stewart said she was on a Crush team that went to the PGF National Tournament in Illinois and went to a big tournament in Kansas City last summer.

“We finished in the top eight for both,” she said.

Stewart batted in the fifth or sixth position for the Owls last spring, and head coach Jerry Burton said she will probably bat in one of the top four positions this coming season.

“I just hit it where it’s pitched and get on base and look to score,” she said, adding she tries to drive the ball into the gaps. “I haven’t hit any home runs in high school, but for travel ball, I’ve hit some.”

She said she enjoys everything about softball.

“I’ve played since I was super little,” Stewart said. “I like the environment and meeting new people and the hard work it takes. I like our home games, and I like all the fans that show up and support us.”

Burton said Stewart has worked hard on her defense.

“Sydney has always been a good defensive catcher but has really improved,” he said. “She does a good job when she has to call the game and just making sure everybody is involved in knowing how many outs there are and what’s going on on defense.”

Her offense has really come along, too, Burton said.

“She has developed power hitting in the gaps as the years have gone by,” he said. “She’s a good leader. She’ll have a good career in college. I expect her to start her first year there.”

In the spring, Stewart said she hopes the Owls are competitive and can have a winning record and just play well together like they did this past spring.

“We’ve won conference two years in a row, and we look to win another conference,” she said.

Another member of the Mount St. Joseph team will be Peri Foust, currently a senior at Columbus North.