Softball’s Cassel is a look-alike, unmatched on team’s roster

She came into the world as a pair, but for the ULM softball team, she is one of a kind. Senior catcher Roxy Cassel is the only catcher on the team’s roster, but with a twin sister six hours away coaching her mentally, Cassel continues to play passionately through the last month of her softball career.
“I’m lucky that I got the opportunity to play. I was put into a role where I had a senior ahead of me my freshman year. And after that, it was just me,” said Cassel, a Houston, Texas native. “So, I had a lot of responsibility, and I’d like to think that I’ve done a good job leading.”
In her junior season, Cassel led the team in fielding percentage with .970, and this season she continues to do well in that category with a percentage of .993 off of one error.
“She’s great. She’s always looking out for what is best for the team,” said senior infielder Katie Girardi, who joined ULM with Cassel as freshmen. “She is always trying to be positive, getting the team together and win.”
Girardi said Cassel has grown so much and has gotten better. Last season, Cassel hit a walk off grand slam to give ULM a win against Middle Tennessee, and Girardi said it was huge.
“That game in general was crazy,” Girardi said. “And then, she hit it, and it was gone, gone.”
According to Girardi, although Cassel is one of the “chill and relax” type of athletes her leadership on the team is clear.
“She doesn’t get too crazy,” Girardi said. “But, she’s definitely one of the leaders, for sure. A lot of the underclassmen look up to her and see how to do things and go about them.”
Cassel has endured a lot of wear and tear on her body. She’s seen chiropractors, physical therapists and masseuses to help stay in physical shape to compete for her team. She joined ULM with back problems, and over the years her condition got worse, leading to her getting two epidural injections in her spine.
Despite the injuries, Cassel still suits up to battle daily. But, just because she doesn’t worry about being replaced on the roster doesn’t mean she slacks on the field.
“I know that I am the only one who [catches], so I know there is no one that I have to worry about taking my spot,” Cassel said. “But then, I’m all we have. So, I know I have to be focused and on my A-game all the time because there is no one who can help me out if I’m not here one day.”
Cassel chose to sign with ULM, while her twin sister, Rae, chose to play at San Jacinto College of Houston, Texas. But ,the distance doesn’t separate the two. Cassel said her twin still helps her improve.
“She knows, better than anybody, how I work,” Cassel said. “She sees weaknesses that nobody else can see and knows what I am capable of more than even the people on my team know.”
Cassel said her twin sister has been more of a rock to her and that she calls her everyday after practice.
“She talks me through a lot of the mental weaknesses that I have, because I’m a very mental player,” Cassel said. “She gives me pep talks before every game and watches every game and goes over every inning with me.”
“Right now, we aren’t having the season that we would like to have,” Cassel said. “So, I’m just getting back to the fundamentals and remembering why I started playing, and [focusing on] going out the same way I started – just for the love of the game.”
Cassel has shown her love for the game by appearing in every contest since her sophomore year. Her sophomore season was the first year she started behind the plate and competed in all of the team’s 55 games.
At the end of the year, she was named to the All-Louisiana Second Team and All-Sun Belt Second Team.
“My sophomore year, I had big adjustments to make, being the only one to lead the team from behind the plate,” Cassel said. “And, we lost a lot of big hitters after my first year, so I had to step up and put in the work to make up for it.”
Cassel said she won’t pursue a professional softball career, but she will graduate in May with a degree in psychology.