LOWELL, Mass. - 3,825 miles away from UMass Lowell's campus is the populous city of Milan, Italy; the improbable stomping grounds of any River Hawk student-athlete. However, Melany Sheldon, a junior infielder for UMass Lowell's softball team made the improbable a reality, as she came to America in 2016 after growing up across the Atlantic Ocean in Milan, and is now the program's first international player.
 
Sheldon lived in a mixed household with an American father from California and an Italian-born mother. Her father went through college and played baseball professionally in America before getting an opportunity to play in the pro league in Italy. Sheldon's parents met through the sport, as her mother, a softball player herself, used to attend many baseball games, and they formed a relationship strong enough for Melany's father to stay in Italy to start their family.
 
Her parents' love for the sports of baseball and softball definitely rubbed off on Melany from a young age. Their influence was strong, but she is grateful that it was not forced upon her.
 
"It was not that he (my dad) wanted me to or forced me to do anything," said Sheldon. "Just the way he explained things, taught me things and showed me the way he played made me more interested in the whole college thing and maybe more interested in the USA itself."
 
Sheldon took the softball baton and ran with it, following her dream of playing college ball in America. It all started at Chipola College, a junior college in Marianna, Florida, where she got her first opportunity. She played two seasons for the Indians, batting .244 as a sophomore with an on-base percentage of .377. She also helped lead the team to a national championship appearance in 2017.
 
Melany's success at Chipola College helped her name rise on the lists of Division I recruiters. UMass Lowell Head Coach Danielle Henderson liked what she had heard and seen of Sheldon.
 
"It started off at junior college at Chipola. I have known people over in Italy that have seen her play or know the teams that she played for and one of the girls that played at UMass Amherst played on the club team with her in Italy so when we mentioned the name, we got high recommendations about her," said Henderson.
 
Soon enough, Sheldon was committed to UMass Lowell. Her success thus far at the collegiate level has not been her only glimpse at the spotlight, however.
 
Sheldon has years of international experience with the Italian National softball team, playing for Team Italy at the 12U, 16U, 19U, and 22U levels. That experience led to an appearance with the Italian Women's National Team in the 2018 Super 6 Tournament in the Netherlands, a tournament recently organized by the European Softball Federation. She did not take this experience and opportunity for granted.
 
"The feeling to play for the national team is something I never know exactly how to explain," said Sheldon. "It's kind of the goal of your whole sports career. It is the moment you feel like all of your hard work matters and that is the time where you want to give it your all."
 
Sheldon has used this experience to propel her into the Division I style of play at UMass Lowell. She has adapted well to the different tendencies of American collegiate athletics.
 
"Softball is different. I feel like it is faster here at the college level and I also think it's based on how many hours you can put into the work of softball," said Sheldon.
 
There are certainly differences coming from overseas but she is proving that international competition was great preparation.
 
"If you also get to play at the international level, you get to see how they play in different countries and you get to compete at a higher level," said Sheldon. "And obviously for a longer time because you get to play throughout the summer, as well. So I think international ball really helped me keep on playing more and more."
 
The amount of time she was able to play softball daily during in her time in Italy shaped her mindset going into her first season at UMass Lowell. Her skills on the field combined with her work ethic are things a coach looks for in a Division I student-athlete. Skills are not the only part of a sport and Sheldon is living proof of that.
 
"She's a very good fielder, very good defensively, with good range and good hands. That was something right off the bat that we were able to see. Knowing that she wants to make her national team, I think we know that there is going to be a level of commitment and drive," said Henderson.
 
The team has welcomed Sheldon with open arms right from the moment they met her. They are making her transition much smoother and taking any extra weight there might be off of her shoulders. This does not go unnoticed.
 
"I've already had another experience in the U.S., but I feel like this is completely different and that was one of the reasons why I accepted to come here. I feel like the team is different," said Sheldon. "The girls are crazy and I kind of like it. They accepted me as soon as they saw me the first time, so I like how they accepted me as part of their family right away."
 
The team is the closest that Coach Henderson has seen since she began coaching here four seasons ago. The team hopes to ride this mentality into the 2019 season and do more than reach their second straight America East Championship game. The family atmosphere and winning mentality in the locker room should serve as even more of a help for Sheldon heading into her first season as a River Hawk.
 
"They have a good time at practice every single day, so the fact that they want to be there is good," concluded Henderson. "I think that helps with Melany because if she could be at the field 24/7 and hit and field all the time, then she would. She likes to be the first one there and the last one to leave."