Elon softball captain and junior Greta Hessenthaler’s role this season looks a lot different than when she first joined the team in 2023. As their lead-off hitter, it’s her job to read the pitcher and communicate back to her team and coaches what she observes at the plate.
“Freshman year, I was more towards the bottom of the lineup, so it was get my job done, move runners, find a way on base, kind of a mix of everything,” Hessenthaler said. “Now in the first at-bat of the game, my role is to see pitches and find a way on base as the lead-off batter, because if I can see pitches, then my teammates behind me can see more of what the pitcher is throwing.”
Named a captain as a sophomore, Hessenthaler quickly grew into one of the team’s lead voices. She said her understanding of the game makes her a stronger leader. Head coach Kathy Bocock points to Hessenthaler’s loyalty to the team as a characteristic of a good captain.
"It's not just because the way she practices and the way she plays, but it's the way she carries herself for her teammates,” Bocock said. “Outside of here, you know, she's very, she's very loyal to the program, she's very loyal to her teammates, and she'll be there for anything.”
Bocock first met Hessenthaler when her older sisters attended Elon softball camps. Bocock knew early on she wanted Hessenthaler on her roster.
“Her two sisters, we tried to recruit them to come play for us and they didn’t, and I was always like, I’m getting her,” Bocock said. “I’m getting Greta.”
Hessenthaler said watching her sisters play inspired her love of the game. Growing up in Alamance County, she knew early she wanted to be a Phoenix.
“When I was probably four or five years old running around Elon, my sisters played, so I was down left field watching them play,” Hessenthaler said. “I always came through camps here with Coach Bo, knew a few girls that played here, so yeah, I always imagined myself playing here.”
During her time at Southern Alamance High School, Hessenthaler stood out as a strong hitter. But the adjustment to playing at the collegiate level was a challenge both on and off the field.
“When I came here, me and Coach Bo had many conversations about how I could not let my academics really stress me out and carry that onto the field,” Hessenthaler said. “Once I figured that part out, it helped me a lot mentally and physically in the game because I was able to perform better.”
Hessenthaler’s balance of academics and athletics has helped her maintain a 4.0 grade point average. Bocock said Hessenthaler’s love of learning doesn’t stop at the classroom but instead expands to the field.
“She might see things a certain way. She'll communicate back with me about it, or the other coaches, and then we talk things through, which is great,” Bocock said. “She's never where she's too big for us, the game, or even her teammates. She's always willing to learn, but she's also always willing to help the others.”
Although Hessenthaler’s communication is a key to Elon’s program, her game speaks for itself. She finished the 2024-25 season with a .354 batting average and was named to the 2025 All-Coastal Athletic Association First Team. Elon softball won its first-ever CAA championship last year — a goal Hessenthaler said they had from the beginning of the season.
“It all started when we stepped back on campus, though, in August, we had that conversation as a team,” Hessenthaler said. “I don’t even know if the coaches were a part of it, but we were like, we’re going to win the championship this year. This is our year.”
Now, Elon is chasing a repeat. But for Greta, it’s about more than the results of each game.
“My number one goal is to have fun,” Hessenthaler said. “Play for that little girl that dreamed of being where I am today.”