As a high school senior, dreaming about playing softball in one year at the intercollegiate level might have been wishful thinking for Rita Horning '03. Horning sat in the dugout during her final season at St. Vincent Pallotti High School with a torn ACL.
“It happened during my senior season of basketball,” Horning said. “I was bringing the ball up the floor when I crossed over at the top of the key. My left leg stayed planted while the rest of my body went the other direction. At the time, I didn’t exactly know what happened, but I knew it was bad. ”
However, Horning never got down on her luck and continued to work towards that next step. Horning was being recruited by 9 different colleges who had seen her at a recruiting clinic at Pennsbury High School. Cabrini head coach Bridget Baxter-Orchard was one of them.
“I remember talking to Bridget about my injury,” Horning said. “She did not seem concerned, so I scheduled a visit. The rest is history. ”
In her first season, Horning had the luxury of learning the ropes at Cabrini with seven other freshmen. In fact, during their run through the NCAA Regional Championship in 2000, six of the Cavaliers starting nine were rookies.
“The thing that made our first season so special was that none of us had ever been there before,” Horning said. “We kept winning, and the farther we advanced, the more we didn’t know what to expect. We just played for the love of the game and for each other. ”
Horning’s career as a Cavalier is extensive with four trips to the NCAA Tournament, including two straight appearances in the regional semifinal. Cabrini racked up a 154-28 four-year record with Horning at first base.
“The connection between the players and the coaches was something extraordinary,” Horning said. “You could always find the softball team on Cabrini’s campus traveling in a pack to class, to games and even to the cafeteria. We owe that to Bridget’s recruiting style. ”
Horning was a two-time All-America selection in 2001 and 2003. She was thrice named an NCAA All-Regional selection and ECAC First-Team honoree. Horning was tabbed the ECAC Player of the Year in 2001.
A four-time Pennsylvania Athletic Conference (now the Colonial States Athletic Conference) First Team recipient, Horning was named the league’s player of the year three times (2001-03) and the tournament’s most valuable player twice (2001,’03). She concluded her career at Cabrini holding six single-season standards and five all-time career records. As a senior, Horning received the Most Outstanding Female Student-Athlete Award.
