Augustana University Athletics

Some college athletes find success as freshmen. For others, success comes with time. Such is the case with Signe DeJong.

Finding herself on the bench for much of her freshman year, her career took a turn at the Augustana home tournament during her sophomore campaign. She recalls, "During my sophomore year I was still a walk-on and was third in a rotation of three pitchers. I had not pitched well for a couple weeks and was not getting much playing time because of it. Our first-string pitcher was hurt and our second-string pitcher had pitched us into the championship game, but she was tired and began to struggle. Coach Jerstad told me to warm up. I was very nervous because I knew this was probably my last chance to prove myself. In warm up I didn't throw a strike, and, in fact, threw a couple over the catcher's head. Coach called me in to finish the game in the bottom of the 7th inning with a one-run lead against UNO, our big rival. After walking two batters and hitting another to load the bases with two outs, I retired UNO's leadoff hitter on a groundout. By the end of the year I was doing most of the pitching. We won the conference tournament and ended up second at the regional. That UNO game was memorable because it was so exciting,we won, and it was a major accomplishment and pivotal moment for me in my softball career."

Signe carried that momentum into a great career. She finished with 79 career wins and was a two-time All-American. She was chosen to the All-North Central Conference team three consecutive years,was an All-Regional performer twice, and was named to the Final Four all-tournament team in 1993. That same year, she pitched the Vikings to a runner-up finish at the National Division II Championships. She registered 419 career strikeouts and was drafted by the Virginia Roadsters of the Women's Professional League. In 1999 she played professionally overseas for Caronno Perusela and Bollate in Italy.