Taylor Roby Ends College Career As Louisville All-Time Great

On Feb. 25, Louisville faced off against Bradley in the second game of a doubleheader. In the bottom of the third inning, Taylor Roby ripped a 1-2 pitch deep into right-center field for a home run. It wasn’t just any home run. It was the 43rd home run of her Louisville career, passing Courtney Moore and making her the all-time home run leader in program history.

That feat alone is impressive enough, but what makes it even more impressive is that just hours earlier against Columbia, she pitched six innings to earn the win in the circle.

Feb. 25 was just another day in the softball life of Roby, a two-way player who currently plays for the WPF's USSSA Pride at the professional level of softball.

Roby’s two-way career started back when she was a young girl. When learning how to pitch, it was her mother who was catching for her.

On the offensive side of the game, her first home run came at 10 years old. Back then, she didn’t know what to do once the ball went over the fence.

“I hit it over the fence and I didn’t know what a home run was, so I didn’t know what to do,” Roby said. “I looked at the coach and asked, ‘What do I do?’ From then on, I knew what a home run was.”

While Roby would pitch and hit throughout her travel softball years, she was somewhat forced into a pitcher-only role in high school. Because of her love of doing both, when she was getting recruited, she always made sure to mention both of her abilities.

Her recruitment process became quite simple when she received an offer from the University of Louisville. The decision for Roby came down to multiple factors.

“I am from about 20 minutes away. I always wanted to stay close to home and play for my city because it meant a lot,” Roby said. “Also, our stadium is named for Don Dobina, who I used to play for in travel ball.”

The Cardinals’ coaching staff also gave Roby the opportunity to pitch and hit.

“I always want to help the team the best way I can,” Roby said. “If I am pitching, I have that, and if I am hitting, I also have that. If I’m struggling, I have the other one to lean on.”

As a two-way player at Louisville, she was immensely valuable to the program during her five-year college softball career.

Roby finished her Louisville career with 56 wins, 360 strikeouts and a 2.81 ERA on the pitching side. On the hitting side she batted .312, with a program-best 63 home runs and 184 RBIs for her career.

With her NCAA career now in the past, Roby’s time in softball doesn’t seem to be ending anytime soon. Following her final game at Louisville, Roby signed a one-year contract with the Pride.

“I didn’t really know if I wanted to play professionally because I didn’t know what to expect,” Roby said. “After my season, I had a couple teams reach out, and the Pride were one of them. I knew it was a good fit for me.”

Playing for the Pride has been an adjustment so far for Roby, but she is finding her way. In her pro debut on June 15, Roby recorded her first career strikeout. She is primarily being used as a pitcher this summer for the Pride, but knows that opportunities to hit will come.

Staying in softball is a big focus for Roby’s future outside of just playing the game. Following her summer season with the Pride, Roby will move on to Clemson University to be a graduate assistant for the Tigers' softball program. That position will set her up for her ultimate goal in the near future: earning a full-time position as a softball coach at the college level.

“I really want to stay in the softball field,” Roby said. “At Clemson, I won’t get out of the game just yet. I hope to be a coach someday.”

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