Kyle and Isabelle first met at a Fellowship of Christian Athletes meeting at Allegheny College in the fall of 2022. Kyle’s best friend Jon first brought him to FCA and taught Him about God’s mercy and love. Isabelle and Kyle did not interact with each other much, but she always remembers the way that he would never leave a meeting without first thanking everyone in the room. In the early spring of 2023, they would chat here and there, discussing softball and faith. Kyle's first move was asking if Isabelle would text him some Christian worship playlists. Then, Kyle asked if he could interview her for The Campus Newspaper. While a normal interview lasts about 15 minutes, they talked for over an hour. That night, they ran into each other again. From then on they talked everyday and began doing Bible studies together each night. The rest is history.

The Gators lineup has a lot of talent, including team captain Isabelle Wakefield, ’23. She continues to be a leader for the Gators, and her presence brings a great atmosphere to the group. During the 2021 season, she dominated on the field as just a freshman, which earned her a spot on the All-NCAC East team. Last year, she dealt with a health issue that was mentally and physically draining. Wakefield was still able to be a regular starter, despite her personal battle, and has always been a team player. “I just want to put my best foot forward at every practice,” Wakefield said. “My goal is to just keep the energy up, to get people to feel like this is important and this is where they should be.” Energy is what Wakefield and the team preaches. As one of the leaders on the team, she is always giving 100 percent of what she has, making her glove one of the best in the conference. It has also earned Wakefield respect from her coaches and teammates. “She is mature beyond her years,” Curtiss said. “She is just a really good human being, and she is a great role model to her teammates. Situationally, she knows what needs to be done, and she is someone you can count on to know how to handle things out there.” This is Wakefield’s last season suiting up. She is not only a weapon on the field for Allegheny, but also in the classroom as her cap and gown will be coming early. Wakefield matriculated with the Class of 2024, but has worked hard to complete her courses and transferred credits over from high school to be able to save a semester of academics and money. She plans to leave it all out on the field. Without becoming too involved in the outcome of her statistics, she wants to perform well and enjoy every moment she has left in the sport she loves. “It has not really hit me yet,” Wakefield said. “I am not really thinking about ‘this is my last season and I have to do amazing.’ Just taking every at bat and every chance in the field that I have, and treating it like that could be the last one and just using it the best I can.” Allegheny was scheduled to play in a doubleheader against Denison University on March 18. However, the weather had other plans that postponed the games. They will open up conference play in the swamp this Sunday, March 26, in a doubleheader versus Bethany College. The Gators are coming into their new conference with a chip on their shoulder. After being ranked seventh in the pre-season polls, they have something to prove with hopes of hoisting the conference trophy at the end of the year.