CEDARVILLE, Ohio - Balancing classes, practices, and married life makes for a demanding schedule, but for two upperclassmen on the team, it is just part of the routine - and it is setting a powerful tone for the rest of the roster.
 
"It [balancing everything] forces you to be organized and know where your priorities are, and I think other people see that on our team and are more likely to follow our example that way," said Mackenzie Lashuay, senior right fielder. "I feel like they [the team] look to us a lot because they know we have so much , but we're still able to balance everything."
 
Lashuay and Dana Croyts, a junior center fielder, have been two of Cedarville softball's most consistent leaders, both on the field with their performance and off the field with how they carry themselves as student-athletes and as individuals.
 
"My number one job when I'm on the field is furthering the Kingdom, not performing well," Croyts said.
 

 
Lashuay and Croyts are both two of Cedarville softball's best players. Batting first and second in the line-up respectively, Lashuay has been named All-G-MAC First Team the last two seasons, and Croyts was named All-G-MAC First Team and all–region as a freshman, and All-G-MAC Second Team last season as a sophomore.
 
Yet, they both have learned that their on-field play does not define who they are as people, especially as followers of Christ.
 
"[Coming into Cedarville] I was so obsessed with softball and letting it define everything, so I've just grown so much in that area," Croyts said. "It's just a thing I do, it's not who I am. Especially Cedarville and playing on a Christian team in a Christ-focused environment has made that so evident to me."
 
Lashuay added, "I feel like we let our play do a lot of the talking. We show up, we put in the work, we get done what we need to get done and I feel like that's evident through our play. We can still be humble, we can still be kind, let's let Christ be shown through our actions."
 
Lashuay found Cedarville through her boyfriend, now husband, Caleb. She knew immediately that she wanted to play a sport in college, but was not sure which one.
 
"I didn't know much about Cedarville besides that my boyfriend was going to go there," Lashuay said. "But I knew that I wanted to play a sport in college, I just didn't know what sport or what that looked like. So, I came to Cedarville for a visit, had a tryout for the softball team and ended up making the team."
 
Croyts on the other hand, had Cedarville in her blood, as her older sister Casey attended the University and was a pitcher and first baseman for Cedarville.
 

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"My older sister went to Cedarville, she played softball here, so I knew about it obviously," Croyts said. "I'd been here a bunch, but basically some things happened my junior year. My dad passed away and I honestly didn't want to play softball at all anymore."
 
Despite this, Casey encouraged the coach at the time to go and watch Croyts at one of her tournaments, and from there she ended up coming to a couple of camps. Not completely sold yet, she came on an official visit.
 
"I was still kind of iffy on it just because I didn't want to follow in my sister's footsteps, I wanted to do my own thing," Croyts said. "But I went on an official visit and I told her, 'don't even come by' [during visit] because I wanted this to be my decision. Then once I went on the official visit, I felt like the Lord was calling me here."
 
A unique challenge that both Lashuay and Croyts face is balancing their marriages with both school and softball. Yet, for Lashuay, it has brought a welcomed comfort to her everyday routine.
 
"It's been really nice to be able to teach in the morning and early afternoon and then having an outlet, which is softball, and it's nice to get to be with my team and be around them," Lashuay said. "And then after practice I get to go home and be with my husband and I don't have to plan anything."
 

Lashuay added, "When we were dating, it was different because we would have to plan time to be together. But now we're just in each other's presence, because he's home whenever I come home, and I get to be with him."
 
Croyts on the other hand, struggled with the transition at first but has now found a rhythm with her husband Josiah.
 
"Josiah and I got married over Christmas break this past year, so we just got married pretty much," Croyts said. "So it was definitely an adjustment, getting married and then starting softball season, so at first it was a little bit hard to plan one on one time with each other. But I feel like with time, we've kind of figured out each other's schedules more and figured out times where we can spend one on one time with each other."
 
Croyts has also seen a lot of personal growth since getting married.
 
"I feel like marriage is obviously a super big spiritual thing, it's representing Christ in the church and in that union," Croyts said. "So I feel like since getting married, I feel like I've grown a lot in my faith just in these past few months and become a more confident woman of the Lord, and I feel like that shows in everything and that shows on the softball field and people want to follow that."
 
Both Lashuay and Croyts have seen a lot of spiritual growth since coming to Cedarville.
 
"I think the biggest thing that Cedarville preaches is making sure you are very intentional about your own quiet time and your own personal time with the Lord," Lashuay said. "So I feel like hearing that in chapel and then our Bible classes, that's kind of driven into us, and yes we have a lot on our plates but putting our relationship with the Lord first is definitely key because it drives everything else."
 
For Lashuay and Croyts, softball is more than just a game — it's a platform to lead, to grow, and to reflect their faith.

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