Oltman commits to Rider University

She has been at the forefront of the revival of Perkiomen Valley.

Now, she wants to take on a new challenge as Vikings senior Emily Oltman, daughter of Linda and Steve Oltman, signed a National Letter of Intent to play softball at Rider University.

“I just like the level of play in the conference,” Oltman said. “When I went on my visits I saw their weight room and how they practiced. I loved how they worked.”

Oltman also considered Iona, Monmouth and Towson before eventually deciding on Rider.

“I wanted a small school in more of a suburban setting,” Oltman said. “I like the homey feel of the campus and it had a lot of opportunities for me. I didn’t feel overwhelmed when I was there, I felt right at home.”

What Rider gets is a dominating presence in the circle.

Oltman has been named to the Mercury All-Area First Team the past two seasons with gaudy numbers. Her sophomore season, Oltman finished the season with a 12-3 record and 2.12 ERA in 102 1/3 innings pitched in leading the Vikings to the PAC-10 Final Four and District 1-AAAA playoff berth. To go along with her 12-3 record, Oltman finished with 127 strikeouts, including 10 in a regular season victory over Owen J. Roberts.

Her junior season solidified her presence as an ace, earning All-State Class AAAA Honorable Mention honors while finishing with a 17-2 record with 165 strikeouts and 1.71 ERA in 147 innings all while leading her team to its second-ever PAC-10 Championship and first-ever PIAA-AAAA berth.

“PAC-10s last year when we won the championship had to be my favorite moment,” Oltman said. “That was a big moment for us. It was something that we wanted all season more than anything, even as we advanced further into districts and states. “It was a good feeling and we worked hard for it.”

Oltman will join a Rider program that has struggled as of late, recording a 12-35 overall record last season before seeing longtime coach Patricia Carroll part ways with the program after 21 years at the helm last week. Oltman’s dominating efforts in the circle the past two years should help rectify a Rider pitching contingent that recorded a 5.27 ERA in the spring.

As for her senior season, there’s work to be done.

“I want us to do better than last year,” Oltman said. “Obviously we had a good year last year but my goal is to have our team do better than we did before. It was heartbreaking losing districts and I would want to win that again, go further in states and win our conference. They’re big goals but I think we can do it.”