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Caitlin Coker leads Division I in triples, but the former Downingtown West star has her eyes on team success

Coker helped the Terriers win their sixth Patriot League softball title and has a big goal: the Women's College World Series.

Boston University’s Caitlin Coker (22) comes from a softball family.
Boston University’s Caitlin Coker (22) comes from a softball family.Read moreMatt Woolverton, BU Athletics

If you walk inside a dugout at Georgia’s Jack Turner Softball Stadium on Friday in Athens, Ga., you may find a picture pinned up of Boston University third baseman Caitlin Coker’s baby nephew.

Before the Patriot League tournament on May 11, her teammates joked that she hits better when her family is in the crowd, and her nephew is the good-luck charm.

“I was massaging [Coker’s] sister like, ‘We need to have him for the week,’” Terriers head coach Ashley Waters said. “Instead, we printed a picture and put it in the dugout, and, literally, she was the tournament MVP.”

Coker who played at Downingtown West and attended Downingtown STEM Academy, helped lead BU to its sixth Patriot League title and batted .700 with three runs, two RBIs, and three stolen bases.

Coker has contributed to more than just that conference tournament win. The senior helped No. 25 BU claim its second-ever top 25 ranking and win the most games by a Northeast school this season (51-8).

Outside of her game, Coker’s leadership, Waters said, has been unmatched, especially in big moments. And on Friday, they’ll follow her calm demeanor as No. 3-seeded Boston University will take on No. 2 Virginia Tech in the Athens Regional of the NCAA softball championship.

“We come into this saying, ‘Why not us?,’” Coker said about being in the regional. “We put on our cleats the same way; we put on our uniforms the same way — we are capable of having success here. When we’re playing our best softball, I don’t think there’s a lot that can stop us from having success.”

» READ MORE: West Chester’s Maggie Pina, once an overlooked recruit, developed into a dual-sport athlete at Boston University

A ‘gritty’ attitude

At a young age, Coker’s father, Chuck, a former Delaware baseball player who later went semi-pro, preached three valuable aspects of the game to his daughter: Make sure nobody counts you out, people remember your effort, and have fun. That mindset has made Coker the athlete she is today, on and off the field.

Watching her older sisters, Casey and Kelly, play the sport and extend their time to the collegiate level — Casey playing at Millersville and Kelly at Rhode Island — motivated Coker.

“I knew that’s what I wanted to do,” Coker said. “I wanted to follow in my sisters’ footsteps, but I also wanted to use my love for the sport and my skills to get a great education. That was the goal at the end of the day.”

Chuck began coaching Caitlin when she was 10 years old. He and a few friends founded a softball club called PA Strikers league. It began as just two girls’ softball teams in 2012, but has since grown to include eight.

“We were a very gritty team,” she said. “Even when we were [ages] 10 and 12, that sort of attitude carried on, putting in the extra work in the weight room and really trying to be the best that we could be to put ourselves on the map.”

It wasn’t long till college recruiters started showing interest in Coker, although Boston U. was quick to make an offer. In Coker’s freshman year at Downingtown West, Waters and her staff were scouting a different player at the time. But they couldn’t help but notice Coker’s game and natural gifts.

Waters noted Coker was a hitting machine, and, as a catcher in high school, she flashed a strong softball IQ.

“She’s incredible offensively,” Waters said. “That was probably the one thing that really registered, she had such command at the plate, such a presence at the plate, and really could hit to all fields.

“I’m like, ‘What can she be?’ Then the second you start to communicate with her, you’re like, ‘OK, this kid’s the real deal.’”

Coker kept adding more potential to her game each year. But her most impressive outing came during her senior season of high school in 2019.

She helped the Whippets win the Ches-Mont National and claim the first district championship in program history that season and hit .611 with 18 doubles, three triples, and six home runs.

This season’s stat sheet looks similar for Coker, who leads the nation with 11 triples, earned Patriot League defensive player of the year (and scholar-athlete of the year), and recorded only one error so far this season. But none of that matters, Coker said. Sure, personal accolades are important, but winning as a group means more.

The team’s motto this season is “nobody, but us.” After the Terriers fell in the Patriot League final against Lehigh last year, they referred to this season as the “Revenge Tour.”

“We’re not caring about statistics, we’re not caring about what other teams are doing in conference, we’re just focusing on what we’re doing that day,” Coker said. “We have to take it game by game, pitch by pitch, to make our big goals happen.”

The future is bright for Coker, who’s focused on winning the regional and hopes to reach the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City.

She plans to return next season, using her fifth year of eligibility while also earning her master’s in biology. Waters sees her filling a key veteran role on the team, one who will help younger women learn what it means to be a true leader.

“She’s such a special, dynamic player,” Waters said. “All the qualities you want in a Division I player and captain. When her time comes, she’ll walk out of this program as one of the best to ever come through it.”