Junior pitcher overcomes injury while remaining competitive

Lehigh junior softball pitcher Chloe Hess has been around the game for a long time.

This exposure started with tee-ball at 4 years old. As her passion and skill grew during middle and high school,  Hess began to travel across the country to play with other competitive softball players.

Hess always knew she was talented. The moment she realized she could play collegiate softball was when she was pitching in a middle school league as a fifth grader and some individuals, including parents and kids in the league, wanted her kicked out because they felt her skill made the competition unfair.

“That’s when I realized that I might be good at this,” Hess said. “I realized I really wanted to go full-throttle and take it really seriously.”

Lehigh sophomore pitcher Chloe Hess throws a pitch during the Mountain Hawks win over Colgate in the second game of a doubleheader Sunday, March 24, 2024, at Leadership Park. Lehigh beat Colgate, 5-3, in Game 2. (Max Brodsky/B&W Staff)

Lehigh softball coach Fran Troyan and former pitching coach Christine Campbell first reached out to Hess after seeing her pitch in a tournament during high school.

Troyan said he recruited Hess entirely through video since the process took place during the coronavirus pandemic when in-person attendance wasn’t an option.

 “It was a situation where you could see her coming in, and she had a ton of swings and misses in the recruiting process, and she did a great job,” Troyan said.

In her first year as a Mountain Hawk, Hess had a 2.21ERA, but a nagging back injury was exacerbated that March during a tournament in California, forcing her to overcome some challenges last season.

Still, her ERA rose to 4.24.

The injury had long-term origins. She discovered a stress fracture in her L5 vertebra — a bone in the lower part of the spine — when she was 12. Hess then underwent an ablation procedure, which involved burning some nerves off the spine to alleviate pain.

Her back never fully healed, and the discomfort from the recent injury is similar to what she felt back then. 

To combat this and return to her full capacity as quickly as possible, Hess has been working with Amanda Crampton, a Lehigh sports medicine trainer.

“It’s important to make sure that you’re stretching and make sure that you are icing or heating and things of that nature,” Hess said. “I’ve definitely been in sports med. a lot more than I’m used to.”

Lehigh softball pitcher Chloe Hess had a 7-5 record over the 2024 softball season. Hess is a Hancock, Maryland native majoring in accounting. (Alec Eskin/B&W Staff)

Hess said the healing process can be frustrating at times, which is something she’s vocalized to Crampton in their sessions. Crampton also suffered an injury during her collegiate career, a season-long knee injury while playing field hockey at East Stroudsburg, and her perspective has helped throughout this process.

But if Hess is known for anything by her teammates, it’s her ability to rebound thanks to a competitive spirit with a side of humor.

“(Hess) is the funniest person that I’ve met in the whole world,” former Lehigh pitcher Katelyn Young said. “She knows the right time to crack a joke and exactly how to do it. She’s so witty on the spot.”

Young said Hess has a workhorse mentality and doesn’t give in easily. She said this includes keeping a strong composure on the mound and eliminating any thoughts that distract from her focus. 

Hess brings a similar work ethic to her studies as an accounting major — an area she said she became interested in after taking business classes in high school. These influential courses included accounting, marketing, business management and Excel. 

While broad, she said they provided insight into what different business career paths might look like.

She said these courses were the only ones she didn’t dread during high school, and this made her realize she was passionate about entering this field once she came to Lehigh.  

Lehigh softball pitcher Chloe Hess ties a ribbon into senior pitcher Ansley Dambach’s hair in the dugout at Leadership Park on April 21, 2024. One way that Hess and her teammates bond off the field is by doing each other’s hair. (Holly Fasching/B&W Staff)

Her time at Lehigh has only furthered her love for accounting and softball. She said she cherishes the friendships and relationships with the many new people she’s met.

She said softball has shown her how sports can bring people together.

“I don’t want to tear up, but it’s shown me self-love and love from others,” Hess said. “I would jump in front of a train for these girls, and it’s promising, and it reminds you that there is still good in the world.”