PORTLAND — All Saco resident Audrey Grinnell has wanted to do growing up was play softball at a Division I college.

On Thursday, the dream became a reality.

In the Sparta Alumni room at Cheverus High School, in front of her family and friends, Grinnell signed her National Letter of Intent to play softball at the University of Connecticut.

Grinnell, a senior at Cheverus, is a catcher on the Stags softball team, but said she will play first base and outfield for the Huskies.

Grinnell said the recruiting process began during the summer.

“I got recruited by a couple of different schools,” Grinnell said. “But in the summer, [UConn’s] assistant coach came and watched me play. Right that day, I called her and went over for a quick visit and it just felt right and I love the school.”

Grinnell said she’s excited that her dream of playing college softball has been realized.

“It was the most exciting thing ever,” Grinnell said. “I’ve always wanted to play DI ball, ever since I was little. It was really exciting. I can’t describe the feeling.”

Grinnell’s signing is also groundbreaking for Cheverus. By joining the Huskies, Grinnell will be the first female athlete from Cheverus to play a Division I sport.

“The coaches here definitely helped me become the person and the player that I am today,” Grinnell said. “All the coaches here definitely helped me develop as a player and a person. I’m really excited I’m the first one.”

Grinnell’s parents, Bob and Caroline, were happy with their daughter’s decision.

“It took a while to get here,” Caroline Grinnell said. “But now that we’re here, it’s exciting. We’re so excited for her.”

Bob Grinnell said the family did research on schools before deciding upon UConn.

“She’s always wanted to play Division I softball, and we did a lot of diligence,” he said. “We went to a lot of DI schools, were up at [the University of Maine at Orono] and we went to UMass-Amherst and went to Fairfield and Seton Hall. But there were a lot of schools we looked at. They were unofficial visits, we just went to look at the schools. A lot of it was just a fit. The coach was outstanding, she came down to watch Audrey on a Sunday morning at 8 a.m. in a tournament in Lowell [Mass.], and that meant a lot to us that she actually showed that much interest to come up.”

Grinnell will be joining a successful team next fall. The Huskies finished last season witha 29-22 record, making it to the Big East Tournament as the No. 6 seed before losing to Louisville 4-0 in the quarterfinal game.

“They play really conservative ball,” Grinnell said. “I know in years past they’ve won their conference, so it will be really competitive.”

Grinnell will have tough competition for playing time next season, as she will battle with four underclassmen who also play either outfield or first base.

“The coach watched me this summer and she said I could start the way that I was,” Grinnell said. “I know I have a lot of work to do to actually be starting, but that’s my goal, to start on their team and have some fun.”

Cheverus softball coach Amy McMullin said Grinnell played well enough last season to start attracting interest from colleges.

“She just played so well,” McMullin said. “She was the defensive player of the year last year, and was a first-team catcher, so she just did great as a junior and that’s what really helped her go DI, but this is just a huge step for the program here at Cheverus, because it’s only five years old, and to have one girl go DI is just crazy, it’s really good for the program.”

McMullin said Grinnell is strong in both the offensive and defensive aspects of her game, and will even get to improve this spring, her final season at the high school level.

“She has strengths on both sides,” McMullin said. “Definitely last year she helped us more defensively, keeping runners off of bases. I know she didn’t do as well offensively as she was hoping for, but she’s such a huge threat at the plate that even if she doesn’t make contact, [pitchers] are scared to pitch to her. She’s just so strong in every aspect.”

— Contact Dave Dyer at 282-1535 ext. 317.