Rapuano is batting a team-leading .333 to start the season. PHOTO CREDIT: gorhody.com
Softball outfielder Skyler Rapuano has seen it all here at Rhode Island. Now in her fourth-year, she is enjoying a career-best season.
In 2020, Rapuano began her career here at URI, only appearing in 10 games during a COVID-19 shortened season. Now in year four, she has played almost every game for the Rams since 2021, appearing in 89% of matchups. This year she has the highest average on the team, batting .333.
Rapuano described how she got to this point in her career, being able to be out on the diamond almost every game.
“It took a long time to get here,” Rapuano said. “You have to hit well, you have to play well. Everyone who is out there deserves their position.”
Rapuano’s journey took time as she mentioned, but took a turn during her freshman season when the Coronavirus pandemic hit the United States. Skylar and the rest of Rhody sports’ seasons were cut short and changed the way things operated for athletes of all sports.
Luckily, Skyler was able to stay as a rookie when the 2021 season came around and this was the start of her breakout season with the Rams softball team. Rapuano batted a .343 batting average with a slugging percentage of .486%. She started in 23 games that year, and appeared in two more to push her total to 25. Her stats in this breakout season led to Rapuano being named to the 2021 Atlantic 10 (A-10) All Rookie Team, a rare honor for softball players in the conference.
In 2022, with a larger sample size, Rapuano had another year that had her turning heads in the A-10, batting .271 while playing 41 of the 46 games the Rams played in 2022. In those 41 games, she started in every single one, having gained trust from new head coach Whitney Goldstien, who started in July 2021 making 2022 her first season at the helm.
Rapuano described what changed when Goldstien came in and how that affected how she played.
“My freshman year I actually was a slapper,” Rapuano said. “Coach Whitney came in and said, ‘no you’re gonna hit,’ and I felt off about it but she convinced me to trust the process, and obviously I trusted her and we can see where I am at now.”
A slapper is someone that’s job is to tap the ball towards the left side of the field to where the defense cant get it, to reach base or advance a runner over.
Coach Goldstien described the trust that she and Skyler have built and had to build when she first arrived in Kingston.
“Being a new coach for her, you have to gain trust and figure out how to mutually have that loyalty toward each other,” Goldstein said. “She’s made so many mature strides from last year to this year. She is one of our best teammates, she is always a good leader. She is someone who has just bought into what we are doing, and it is really showing on the field, especially this year.”
Rapuano has earned everything, from her starting spot on the field to winning A-10 player of the week, which she won back on March 20th. During that week she batted seven for 10 with three multi-hit games. Most importantly though, the Rams won the series against last year’s A-10 champions, the George Washington Colonials.
Rapuano knew it was a big honor, but wanted to make sure her teammates knew she couldn’t do it alone.
“I was super excited,” Rapuano said. “It was really big to my team, I’m just happy I could help us get the victory in the series.”
Rapuano and the Rams are 16-20 this year, but more importantly they are 6-5 within the Atlantic 10, sitting in fifth place. Rapuano and her Rhody teammates take on first place Dayton in a three game series here in Kingston this weekend, as they look to continue their success.