Former Stony Brook pitcher and 2016 graduate Jane Sallen (Lake Worth, Fla.) is embarking on an adventure of a lifetime. Sallen, a two-time America East all-conference selection, was invited to play professional softball for ESB (Enkoping softball and baseball club) in Enkoping, Sweden. We will track Jane’s experiences overseas in our bi-weekly blog written by Sallen, titled “Sallen in Sweden”:


I have officially been living in Enkoping, Sweden for almost two weeks! So far it has been quite a crazy experience. I feel like I have been doing and learning so much in such a small amount of time.

I landed on May 25 and went right into practicing with the team that night. We only had three days to practice and get to know one another before we started playing games against other Swedish teams. We won one and lost one. I thought it would be much more difficult playing with people who speak another language, but everyone on the team speaks English really well. Since we did not have games this past weekend, we decided to scrimmage against the baseball team. I ended up pitching for the guys so our team could get more practice hitting off of me and working on their timing.

Life other than softball has been filled with Swedish food/candies, biking, and learning the language. Malin and Alex (my hosts) have been introducing me to so many Swedish things. I learned very quickly that biking is the mode of transportation, which is definitely keeping me in shape! I also never knew that there could be so many different kinds of cheese and bread, all of which are amazing. However, I do not recommend trying salty liquorice… it is definitely an acquired taste.

Kim (the other American on the team) and I got to explore Stockholm for a bit as well. We went to the Vasa Museum which houses a war ship from the 17th century. It was a must-see as 98% of the ship was in its original form.

I look forward to sharing my experiences with you all over the upcoming weeks.

Hej do (bye),

Jane