Inside HOKIE SPORTS | Vol. 12 No. 4 | March 2020

38 Inside Hokie Sports • Same-Day Crowns • IV-Sedation for Anxiety • Evening + Saturday Hours • Premier Invisalign Provider Downtown Blacksburg 540.552.5433 “I had a goal. I had plans. I was going to be done and move on and get a job,” Lattin said. “But then I was thinking, ‘I’m not done yet.’ I talked with Coach Pete, and I asked, ‘Is there an option for coming back?’ He was like, ‘Yes, I want you back if you want to do that.’ Then I talked with my family, and they’re like, ‘Liv, whatever you want to do, we’ll support you.’ My dad was like, ‘I know you’re not done. You’re going to come back.’” Her dad, David, had always been her biggest backer. He grew up playing baseball with three older brothers, so he possessed a passion for gloves, balls and bats, and he subtly—or not—passed that on to his oldest child. Olivia played both soccer and softball as a kid in Kingston, New York, but gradually gravitated toward softball on a full-time basis, much to the delight of her father. “I was his prodigy,” Olivia said. Not that her mom, Dianna, wasn’t involved. David and Dianna both own businesses in Kingston—he owns an oil and gas company, while she owns a florist shop. Yet both basically took on an additional full- time job shepherding their oldest all over the East Coast to play in softball tournaments, as she became better and better in the sport. In fact, she became really good. Lattin became a college prospect and wound up taking visits to ACC schools such as Syracuse and Boston College. Florida State even invited her to campus. Of course, the area schools—such as Marist and Iona—showed lots of interest. Then-Virginia Tech head coach Scot Thomas made her a priority, coercing her to campus. At that point, the school, the town and the area sold itself. She found Blacksburg to be much like Kingston, a small town that sits on the rolling hills that cascade toward the banks of the beautiful Hudson River an hour north of West Point and two hours north of New York City. “This was the first ACC school I visited, and I absolutely fell in love,” Lattin said. “I loved the campus, loved the whole athletic department and I knew this was the one because I would travel to other schools, and I would compare every other school to this school. Me and my dad left here, and we already knew this was where I wanted to end up.” Lattin committed and ultimately signed with the Hokies—and has been a starter ever since. She found herself quickly immersed into big- time college softball, too. In the fourth game of the 2016 season, the Hokies played then-No. 2 Michigan, and then in the fifth game, they took on then-No. 1 Florida. “I thought I was good—and then we played them,” Lattin said. “That was on a different level.” Lattin gradually saw incremental gains in her game, showing a nice mix of pop (20 homers and 69 RBI during her first three seasons) and speed (15 stolen bases). She even saw some time in the circle, pitching in 11 games her first two seasons before cashing out. She lacked the passion for it, preferring instead to invest in other areas. After missing last season, Lattin now possesses a maturity about her and certainly an appreciation for her return to Virginia Tech. She’ll miss this team and this program, though there were occasional bumps GETTING TO KNOW … OLIVIA LATTIN Q: What’s your dream vacation? OL: I’ve never been to California, and I’m obsessed with Disney World. I’ve been to Disney World a couple of times down in the Florida, but I’ve always wanted to see Disney Land. I think going out there and spending a week out there would be fine. Q: If you could trade places with someone for a day, who would it be? OL: My idol growing up was Jennie Finch [former Olympic softball player], so I always wanted to know how her day to day went. So I think her. She just amazed me when I was younger, so I’d love to see a day in the life of Jennie Finch. I met her once. I was at a tournament in New Jersey, and she was working a camp. I got a ball signed by her and took a picture with her. Q: Who is your celebrity crush? OL: I’m obsessed with Ryan Reynolds [Canadian actor]. I absolutely adore him. I’ve seen the movie “The Proposal” with him in it, and it’s one of my favorites. I love him so much. He’s such a great actor. I can’t remember who he’s married to, but they seem like such a perfect couple. Q: What’s your favorite city? OL: Louisville. We went to Louisville my freshman year, and we haven’t been back. I loved it. We walked around, and I just absolutely loved it. We had a hotel right on the water, and it was really pretty. It was different. Whenever someone thinks city with me, they think New York City. They think I love New York City. I don’t. Maybe because I live in New York. I’ll go for day trips, but with Louisville, I had never been west, you know, away from the East Coast. I loved it out there. Just different for me. Q: What’s your favorite thing about being a Virginia Tech athlete? OL: I think, as an athlete, just the sense of community. I love the ability to walk around campus and seeing all the athletes repping their sport or the gear they’re wearing, and we have a very close-knit athletics community, and I love being a part of that. It’s like the saying, ‘This is home.’ It really is. That’s why I came back for a fifth year. I absolutely love it down here. TAKING CARE BUSINESS OF Continued from page 37