Her teammates call her “DL.” When fellow seniors, pitcher/designated player Erin O’Shea and catcher Kaitlyn Piazzolla, were asked about senior shortstop Danielle Lafferty, with her still in the room, they laughed awkwardly.

“Danielle is a very competitive (person) and a really good teammate,” O’Shea said. “She always has your back and is going to lay out and do whatever it takes to help this team out.”

The catcher was no different.

“I would second what Erin says,” Piazzolla said. “It’s always reassuring to know that when the ball is hit to DL, it’s in safe-keeping and it’s going to be a sure out, or something is going to happen positive for the team.”

Lafferty has developed a consistency in play and strong relationship with her teammates, particularly O’Shea and Piazzolla, who live with her. Their connection was significantly helped by the softball team winning its first Southern Conference championship in 2010 during their sophomore year.

“We’ve had some good times,” Lafferty said. “With Erin and KP, we’ve grown to be best friends over the years, living together. Just being around my teammates and having those fun times together, it’s been great.”

Athletic from the beginning

Lafferty is from Bear, Del., and attended Caravel Academy, where she played three varsity sports in eighth grade, one in each season.

“In the fall, I went to the state championship as an eighth grader for field hockey, the semifinals in basketball, then the state championship for softball,” she said. “It was a great year. It was crazy because I was this little eighth grader, just going out there and playing and had all that kind of stuff happen. It was pretty cool.”

She helped Caravel win two softball state championships and a pair of state runner-ups during her high school career and earned first-team all-state accolades during her junior and senior years.

And that’s despite her never playing a crucial childhood bat and ball sport.

“I actually never played T-ball,” she said. “I started when I was about 10. I just joined a Little League team and it started from there. Going through travel ball, high school and now Division I.”

She also considered playing basketball for Elon, like current junior infielder Ali Ford is doing this season, after being recruited for softball. But she said former Elon coach Patti Raduenz would not allow her to do so because she had some injuries playing basketball.

Lafferty came to Elon when she “fell in love” with the campus while the school was recruiting her.

“Throughout the recruiting process, Elon kept coming up,” she said. “The team was great. They were a good team, and I fell in love with it and decided to come here and continue my career."

Champions in their own right

After she started 45 of 46 games for the Phoenix in her first season in the maroon and gold, Lafferty started in all 58 games in 2010, hitting .243 with five home runs and 31 RBIs, the latter first for Elon — a pretty solid sophomore year.

Not to mention, the Phoenix also won the SoCon championship that season.

“It’s never happened before for softball, so to have that ring, it’s great,” Lafferty said. “A lot of people coming out of Elon don’t get a ring, so for us to do that was great and it was an awesome experience.”

Second-seeded Elon defeated No. 4 University of North Carolina at Greensboro 6-3 May 14, 2010, to tally the program’s 38th win that season, most in the school’s history.

Lafferty was named to the preseason all-SoCon second-team the next year. She had a solid year in 2011, earning Player of the Week honors April 25 and batting .299 over the season.

“They mean a lot,” she said of those personal awards. “It goes to show how hard my work has paid off in the end and that people do recognize what I’ve done. It’s an honor.”

Now in her senior season, Lafferty has started all 42 games this year, continuing a consistency not many have.

“Not a lot of people can say that they’ve done that in their four-year career, so it’s just built my experience over the year,” she said. “I’ve gone through injuries and all that kind of stuff. It’s been fun, and I’m very appreciative that my coaches have given me the opportunity over the years to be the starting shortstop.”

Phoenix interim head coach Kathy Bocock said Lafferty has been a leader, even last year when she had several seniors around her.

“Shortstop is a big place to be,” she said. “It’s kind of like basketball. You’ve got a coach on the floor, the point guard. And it’s the same thing in softball. She’s our coach on the field and helps us do the things that we need to be taking care of. Whenever we run plays, we run them through Danielle.”

Developing a leader

Lafferty is always good for a laugh off the field, according to her roommates.

“She has this dry sense of humor,” O’Shea said. “She doesn’t know that she’s funny, but when she says something, you’re like, ‘OK, DL.’”

Piazzolla agrees.

“DL is the person that comes out with a funny comment every once in a while,” she said. “It’s definitely something that sticks in your head the rest of the night.”

Bocock sees her as a laid-back person who has an ability to lead.

“She doesn’t get worked up about things,” her coach said. “Even in her personality, she goes with the flow. She’s that silent leader that a lot of these girls can go to and know Danielle is just going to say, ‘You know that’s where it is, so just go with the flow, do your job.’ She’s doesn’t get worked up, she’s not irrational, she’s just a very easy-going person.”

Both Piazzolla and O’Shea testify that Lafferty is one of the players that will stand on the fence in the dugout, cheering on her teammates. O’Shea called her “not just a one-dimensional player. She’s involved in every aspect of the game.”

For Lafferty, that leadership has developed over time.

“You definitely learn a lot about yourself and your leadership,” she said. “You can relate to the freshmen, as where, when you were a freshman, you kind of look up to the seniors. Well, now you’re in that role. It’s kind of guiding your teammate and being that leader — bringing the best out of each player, getting those big wins against the big teams and get that conference championship.”

Her coach insisted on one thing she wanted to say about Lafferty. Bocock was a volunteer when Lafferty was recruited and has watched her grow as a player over the last couple of years. Now as her head coach, she has very nice things to say.

“It’s been a real pleasure for me to coach Danielle,” she said. “She’s always been very supportive of me, and I appreciate her and her personality and who she is. She’s a great person, great young lady.”