Laura Watten remembers getting the e-mail when she was still the softball coach at Bethune-Cookman College.

Brittany Bessho had just completed her sophomore year at the University of Tennessee and her second season as a catcher on the Volunteers’ softball team.

But things weren’t going so well in Knoxville.

The Volunteer coaches wouldn’t allow Bessho to take her prerequisite chemistry classes, as they conflicted with practice. Bessho left the team following the 2005 season but still desired to play softball at the collegiate level. She began sending e-mails to various coaches around the country, including Watten.

When Watten left Bethune-Cookman that summer to coach at this university, signing Bessho was right at the top of her to-do list.

“Immediately when I took the job at Maryland, I contacted her and we started communicating,” Watten said. “She wanted to come to Maryland because of the reputation of the school, and I wanted her to be a part of the program.”

For the five seniors on the Terrapin softball team, today’s doubleheader against George Washington will be the last time they take the field for a regular season game at Robert E. Taylor Stadium.

But today’s game will have special meaning for Bessho, who endured a broken relationship at Tennessee to find a perfect one in College Park. As a Terp, Bessho has been allowed to miss practice time if necessary in order to earn a degree in food science. And after graduating, she plans to attend graduate school and pursue a master’s degree.

“I honestly couldn’t ask for more,” Bessho said. “It’s been a wonderful experience. I’m getting the degree that I want, and the coaches have allowed me to do that. That’s ultimately what we go to school for, not to play softball for four years.”

She’s pretty good at softball, too.

As the top returning hitter from last season’s squad, Bessho is fourth on the team in batting average (.302), second in home runs (4) and slugging percentage (.527), and first in doubles (11).

But her biggest contribution this season might have come from behind the plate as battery-mate to the Terps’ three new pitchers.

“Brittany is awesome,” sophomore pitcher and fellow transfer Lindsey Wright said. “She is the kind of person that not only brings a smile to your face but she pushes you to be the best player you can. She’s really helped me make the transfer from Juco to Division 1 because of her attitude and leadership.”

Bessho also plays a crucial role in scouting the other team for Terp coaches. Pitches are called from the dugout by the coaches to Bessho, who then relays them to the pitcher, but most of those calls are based on Bessho’s in-game observations.

“The feedback she gives us about where the hitters are or what their tendencies are, that really dictates a lot of what our pitch calls are,” Watten said. “She’s very good at telling us what pitches are working and what pitches aren’t.”

And then there’s that smile, ever-visible beneath her catcher’s mask. Whether she’s talking to the head umpire or giving her pitcher some advice, Bessho always seems to be sporting a toothy grin.

“She’s just always about having fun,” Watten said. “She’s always smiling, always laughing. She has such good energy, and that may come across as crazy to some people. It’s all about having fun and keeping everything light.”

But Bessho is also an intense competitor, and will often use humor to recover from her own mistakes. On rare occasions, she’ll even drop the smile to deliver some stern criticism to her pitcher.

“She gets in my face and yells at me, because she knows what I can do,” Wright said. “She doesn’t sugarcoat it. She lets me know she expects everything, and she lets me know she’s aggravated.”

But no matter how intense she gets on the diamond, the happy-go-lucky Bessho is always just around the corner.

“Being a leader, I think that comes with being a catcher,” Bessho said. “I love the younger girls looking up to me. This year I’ve been able to step up and lead by example, and I’m looked at as a person that’s supposed to produce, and that’s always fun.

“This year, I’ve had probably the most fun playing softball on the field because I’ve been so close to my teammates. That has made it a joy, and has made me be able to go out on the field and get the job done.”

It’s always easier when you’re happy where you are.

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