As a fifth-year softball player who is working on a Ph.D. in chemistry with an eye on pharmaceutical research, UMBC star pitcher Courtney Coppersmith has a lot to look forward to entering the 2022-23 school year.
Coppersmith has not only been an unstoppable force on the field throughout her four years but also off the field in the STEM world. Coppersmith was named the 2021-22 America East Woman of the Year, becoming only the second softball player to earn this honor.
As far as softball, Coppersmith was named the America East Pitcher of the Year for the third time in four years this past spring. Here are the left-hander’s numbers the past four seasons:
2019: 1.97 ERA and 346 strikeouts in 224 innings
2020: 0.19 ERA and 82 strikeouts in 37 innings during a COVID-shortened season
2021: 0.93 ERA and 249 strikeouts in 151 innings
2022: 0.78 ERA and 219 strikeouts in 116 innings
Coppersmith explained to Stan “The Fan” Charles and Gary Stein on Facebook Live June 9 that hip surgery and rehab after her freshman season allowed her to tap into another level of her game, which shows in her stats. The time it took for her to heal showed Coppersmith just how much potential she had for upcoming seasons.
Coppersmith had a torn labrum and impingement in her left hip. She had to get surgery to heal and fix the injury.
“They had to shave down both the ball and socket,” Coppersmith said, “and then fix everything.”
After a five-month recovery period, she was able to get back on the field, but COVID threw a wrench in her plans by forcing the cancellation of most of the 2020 season.
For some college athletes, this would be a setback. But for this Retrievers pitcher, it was an opportunity to become physically stronger and recover without the pressures of both softball and school. COVID allowed Coppersmith to get back to her best physical shape.
In 2020, Coppersmith adopted a consistent schedule of going to the gym after her job at Walmart during the day. Since her mother was a nurse during that difficult time, she had already been exposed to COVID, allowing her to not miss physical therapy and gym time.
“I had to work my butt off and my tail off because I literally started off at ground zero,” she said.
Coppersmith improved physically not just from going to the gym but by working with her physical therapists during the rehabilitation process and prior to hip surgery. For three weeks after surgery, Coppersmith had to use crutches and slowly relearn how to use her left leg again.
“I’d walk with the crutch and then just my big toe on the ground. That’s how I walked for three weeks,” Coppersmith said. “I was slowly able to start walking again.”
This is not the first time the pitcher was injured during her time as a player. The summer before her freshman year, she dislocated her non-throwing elbow and was told that she wouldn’t be able to fully extend it or do a pull-up again. But she proved otherwise thanks to her resiliency.
Plus, Coppersmith was involved in a car accident, but she luckily only had a couple of bruises and a minor concussion.
“Not many people know, but I was in a really bad car accident in 2019 during December,” Coppersmith said. “I slid on black ice, hit a tree, took out three mailboxes and then hit another tree. I walked out of the car and was perfectly fine.”
After her college career, Coppersmith looks forward to becoming Dr. Coppersmith and sharing her love of softball with other young female athletes.
“Even if it’s not me being personally involved in a sport, like softball, I’m definitely going to try at least show, ‘Hey this is what your love can get for you, this is what hard work can get for you, but at the end of the day you need to have fun,'” Coppersmith said.
For more from Coppersmith, watch the full interview here.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of UMBC Athletics