When needed, Hannah Edwards relied on two redeeming qualities that have helped her throughout her athletic career – confidence and motivation.

The former Catasauqua standout and current Lehigh outfielder dealt with a heel injury early last season that caused her to redshirt and to endure several months of rehab.

Last season, during a game at Duke in a tournament, Edwards’ cleats got stuck in the batter’s box, and she felt uncomfortable. While running to first base, Edwards took a giant step toward the bag instead of her normal stride and her toes hit the front of the bag, jarring her Achilles in the process.

Edwards suffered a heel injury that initially placed her on crutches and in a boot before she had a walking boot.

Despite a lengthy rehab, Edwards remained confident.

“I knew something was wrong when I got off the field and into the dugout,” recalled Edwards. “I could just feel that something was wrong.

“But one of the biggest things I needed was to have confidence. There were a lot of mental struggles. There were teachable moments for me and I stayed confident.”

In fact, Edwards watched the majority of the season from the sidelines and gained a different perspective about the game.

“I took the experience as a learning one and it gave me another outlook about the game,” said Edwards. “I looked at the game as a coach. I got to appreciate the game more and realized a lot more things.”

When she returned playing in the fall, Edwards went back to basics.

“I thought the rehab went well,” she said. “It was about making some adjustments, but I knew I didn’t have to question my ability. It really comes down to keeping it simple and not getting caught up in everything.”

During her time watching the game, Edwards created a blog for the school newspaper. She is a psychology and journalism major.

As a sportswriter for the school paper, Edwards has covered a number of events.

“I do enjoy writing,” she said. “When I was writing the blog, I wrote about the games and life lessons to put a better perspective on it.

“I have been assigned to a number of sports, and it has worked out. I enjoy working with people and that would be the psychology part of it. It is a good combination for me.”

Edwards, a sophomore due to her redshirt season, will be in right field for the Mountain Hawks when they begin play at a weekend tournament at the University of Charlotte.

Upon her graduation from Catty in 2016, Edwards enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh, where she made 38 starts in the outfield in 43 games. A leadoff hitter, Edwards led the team in triples (3) and sacrifices (7) along with being tied for the lead in stolen bases (11).

At Lehigh last year, she hit .300 with three stolen bases in 20 games.

“Things have been going really well,” said Edwards about the preseason workouts. “I’m really looking forward to getting started.”