Groton’s Elisa Allen enjoys historic year for BU softball

It wasn’t too long ago that Elisa Allen was mashing home runs left and right for the Groton softball team. In fact, it was just two years ago when Allen concluded her illustrious high school career and was getting set to take her talents to the college level at Binghamton University. Her freshman year was impressive, being named to the America East All-Rookie Team. This season was nothing short of remarkable.

Allen broke two program records, shattering the single-season marks in home runs (26) and runs batted in (56). To put things into perspective, the old home run record was 15. While it certainly takes a lot of physical strength to hit so many balls out of the park, Allen believes the mental side of her game has improved the most from her freshman to sophomore year.

“I honestly just switched my mindset to focus more on a team standpoint,” Allen said. “I think that really helped me a lot because the trust that I had in everybody and then hearing the confidence that they had in me built up that mental strength point in my head. I think that was definitely the biggest thing.”

Even though it is tempting to want to hit a homer in every plate appearance, that’s not the main focus for Allen.

“I just want to compete and put up the best at bat I can,” Allen said. “I don’t always look for a home run, but I honestly just look for what will help my team the most, and if that happens to be a home run, it is what it is.”

Allen played an instrumental role in what was a historic season for the program as a whole. The Bearcats won their first America East title since 2015, which was also the last time they made the NCAA Tournament. Allen—who was named the conference’s Player of the Year—praised the team’s togetherness for guiding them to glory.

“We all had so much trust in each other, and we all are so close with each other,” Allen said. “We all know if somebody doesn’t take care of a job, then somebody else will, no doubt. Obviously we’re a really good team, both offensively and defensively, and I think it showed. It proved to us that we can do that, and it kind of set the standard for these next few years in the program on what should happen. Being a part of this team and the love that we all have for each other, it’s unreal.”

It’s no surprise to see a Section IV alum excel at Binghamton, as the program has been home to many former standouts from the area. Last year’s America East Player of the Year, Allison L’Amoreaux, attended Maine-Endwell, while head coach Jess Bump is a Windsor alum who has earned back-to-back Coach of the Year honors. It goes to show the strength of softball in the section and its ability to excel at the collegiate level.

“It’s been a really good section,” Allen said. “Not everybody’s in the IAC, but that conference is really, really competitive. The small school type of competing for that championship or just competing to win the season, it’s huge.”

It also comes as no shock that Allen has been able to translate her outstanding high school career over to Binghamton. While at Groton, Allen set school records in career home runs, on-base percentage and batting average. She was a four-time IAC First Team All-Star, a five-time Section IV All-Star and most notably was an All-State selection during her senior year in 2023. Allen displayed tremendous leadership while with the Red Hawks, and even as an underclassman in college, that aspect has carried over to the Bearcats.

“[I’m] just trying to be more out there and trying to talk through the process more with everybody and trying to be more of a leader to everybody and believing in them as much as they believe in me,” Allen said.

The Bearcats ventured to Eugene, Oregon, for NCAA regionals, a trek that many on the team (including Allen) was the longest they had ever been on. While Binghamton went 0-2 against some stiff competition, the bar has been set. The Bearcats expect to be competing for a conference title, and Allen will be a huge part of that goal for the next couple of years.

In the meantime, Allen has already identified what she wants to keep improving to make her junior season even more special.

“I want to become more mentally strong, have more confidence in myself, and kind of learn the game a little bit deeper so I can have more of that knowledge to help everybody out,” Allen said. “I’m gonna work on the little things like more catching stuff and hitting, and I’m gonna try to be as best as I can be for the team, and hopefully it’ll pay off this year.”