University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Stephanie DeFeo - Louisiana Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2019
11/2/2019 9:05:00 AM | Athletics
Twice in her career, the Ragin' Cajuns reached the World Series, and Louisiana was ranked as high as No. 2 nationally in her freshman season
LAFAYETTE - It was only by an odd set of circumstances that Stephanie DeFeo ever set foot on campus.
One of the most feared power hitters in collegiate softball hadn't given the Ragin' Cajuns a second thought when she was planning to sign with a college out of her Pleasantville, N.J., hometown.
Long-time Ragin' Cajuns coach Yvette Girouard wasn't looking for a hitter when she was at a national tournament in Colorado in 1993. She was trying to recruit a pitcher.
"She (DeFeo) came up and hit a home run off the pitcher I was recruiting, and I followed her the rest of the tournament and kept saying, my God she is a hitter," Girouard said. "I sent her a packet of information, but I never heard back."
That packet went to a wrong address, and by the time Girouard was able to contact DeFeo by phone, the New Jersey product was down to her last recruiting trip and was headed for South Carolina.
"I asked her on Monday if she would think about coming in on a visit, and she came that weekend for her last visit," Girouard said. "I had to beg the UL folks because it was such an expensive ticket, from New Jersey at the last minute, but she came in Homecoming week, fell in love with the atmosphere and we signed her."
It helped that Girouard, coming off her team's first-ever Women's College World Series appearance, was the grand marshal of the Homecoming parade. "I think she was a little impressed with that," Girouard said, "but it was all just lucky."
The Ragin' Cajuns were the lucky ones, since DeFeo went on to earn three All-America honors at first base and designated player, and she left with a school-record 43 home runs –15 in her senior season – in an era still dominated by pitching. Her .676 slugging mark still ranks among the school's all-time leaders.
"There were a lot of veterans on that team, and the talent when I got there was unbelievable," said DeFeo, now the softball coach at Mercer in Macon, Ga. "But Yvette did not let you settle. There was no let-up. We worked hard every day. She demanded excellence and we didn't want to let her down."
Girouard's teams were coming into their own as a national power, but she realized that she had something special in the "Jersey Girl."
"She was just a specimen as an athlete," Girouard said. "I told her that she was kind of a bull in a china shop defensively, but offensively she was just an animal. Pure strength and power, but she was able to harness that power and turn it to her advantage. She really had to work hard defensively, but she did that and she became a very good first baseman."
DeFeo earned All-America honors as a freshman in 1994 when she was also All-Louisiana and All-South Region, and set a school record with a .739 slugging percentage. She repeated that national honor as a sophomore when she hit .409, and took All-America honors for the third time as a senior in 1997. Twice in her career, the Ragin' Cajuns reached the World Series, and Louisiana was ranked as high as No. 2 nationally in her freshman season.
The Ragin' Cajuns had pitchers like Kyla Hall (17 career no-hitters) and Cheryl Longeway (no-hitter vs. Michigan in the 1995 WCWS), but they also needed offensive punch, and DeFeo filled that need – especially after working with then-assistant coach and now Alabama head coach Pat Murphy.
"I was raw when I got there, and Pat molded me to be able to hit to all fields," DeFeo said. "As a freshman it was 'see ball, hit ball.' I didn't know any better. Pat inspired me to be a better player."
That didn't come without a lot of work, though, and it's that work ethic that has her as one of this week's inductees into the Louisiana Athletics Hall of Fame, part of a group that will be honored as part of this year's Homecoming activities.Â
"I knew how to get there, what it took," DeFeo said. "You've got to put the work in. Me and Kathy Morton (a fellow Hall of Fame inductee this week) would go back to the field at night, set up the machine, then keep hitting until the balls were all over the fence. Then we'd go and pick them up and start over."
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One of the most feared power hitters in collegiate softball hadn't given the Ragin' Cajuns a second thought when she was planning to sign with a college out of her Pleasantville, N.J., hometown.
Long-time Ragin' Cajuns coach Yvette Girouard wasn't looking for a hitter when she was at a national tournament in Colorado in 1993. She was trying to recruit a pitcher.
"She (DeFeo) came up and hit a home run off the pitcher I was recruiting, and I followed her the rest of the tournament and kept saying, my God she is a hitter," Girouard said. "I sent her a packet of information, but I never heard back."
That packet went to a wrong address, and by the time Girouard was able to contact DeFeo by phone, the New Jersey product was down to her last recruiting trip and was headed for South Carolina.
"I asked her on Monday if she would think about coming in on a visit, and she came that weekend for her last visit," Girouard said. "I had to beg the UL folks because it was such an expensive ticket, from New Jersey at the last minute, but she came in Homecoming week, fell in love with the atmosphere and we signed her."
It helped that Girouard, coming off her team's first-ever Women's College World Series appearance, was the grand marshal of the Homecoming parade. "I think she was a little impressed with that," Girouard said, "but it was all just lucky."
The Ragin' Cajuns were the lucky ones, since DeFeo went on to earn three All-America honors at first base and designated player, and she left with a school-record 43 home runs –15 in her senior season – in an era still dominated by pitching. Her .676 slugging mark still ranks among the school's all-time leaders.
"There were a lot of veterans on that team, and the talent when I got there was unbelievable," said DeFeo, now the softball coach at Mercer in Macon, Ga. "But Yvette did not let you settle. There was no let-up. We worked hard every day. She demanded excellence and we didn't want to let her down."
Girouard's teams were coming into their own as a national power, but she realized that she had something special in the "Jersey Girl."
"She was just a specimen as an athlete," Girouard said. "I told her that she was kind of a bull in a china shop defensively, but offensively she was just an animal. Pure strength and power, but she was able to harness that power and turn it to her advantage. She really had to work hard defensively, but she did that and she became a very good first baseman."
DeFeo earned All-America honors as a freshman in 1994 when she was also All-Louisiana and All-South Region, and set a school record with a .739 slugging percentage. She repeated that national honor as a sophomore when she hit .409, and took All-America honors for the third time as a senior in 1997. Twice in her career, the Ragin' Cajuns reached the World Series, and Louisiana was ranked as high as No. 2 nationally in her freshman season.
The Ragin' Cajuns had pitchers like Kyla Hall (17 career no-hitters) and Cheryl Longeway (no-hitter vs. Michigan in the 1995 WCWS), but they also needed offensive punch, and DeFeo filled that need – especially after working with then-assistant coach and now Alabama head coach Pat Murphy.
"I was raw when I got there, and Pat molded me to be able to hit to all fields," DeFeo said. "As a freshman it was 'see ball, hit ball.' I didn't know any better. Pat inspired me to be a better player."
That didn't come without a lot of work, though, and it's that work ethic that has her as one of this week's inductees into the Louisiana Athletics Hall of Fame, part of a group that will be honored as part of this year's Homecoming activities.Â
"I knew how to get there, what it took," DeFeo said. "You've got to put the work in. Me and Kathy Morton (a fellow Hall of Fame inductee this week) would go back to the field at night, set up the machine, then keep hitting until the balls were all over the fence. Then we'd go and pick them up and start over."
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