STONY BROOK, N.Y. — When Stony Brook softball coach Megan Bryant called on Diane Caruso to pinch hit during a season-opening trip to Florida in 2013, the freshman delivered a base hit. It was the culmination of years of determination to play the sport at the collegiate level.
 
Now a multimedia journalist at News 12, Caruso delivers news to the local community at a pivotal time in the world's history. She leans on a foundation built during what blossomed into an impressive Seawolves career.
 
Caruso, a Middletown native, has taken the values she learned as a collegiate student-athlete who studied in the university's journalism school with her into the workforce.
 
It wasn't the easiest path.
 
Caruso joined the softball program as a walk-on.

"I always wanted to play Division I softball," Caruso said. "I would turn on the TV and see the girls play and I always wanted to be like one of them. It has always been my goal since i was a little kid."
 
Stony Brook provided Caruso with everything she sought: a D-I softball team, a strong journalism school, comfortable distance from home and a football team that she would be able to cheer.
 
Caruso took on a pinch-hitting role for the first half of her collegiate career.
 
"Being able to step up as a pinch hitter made me want to keep working hard to be the best player I could be for my teammates," Caruso said. "When I was in those pinch-hit situations, I just wanted to continue the success for everyone."
 
Caruso became a pivotal player as an upperclassmen. She was a fixture in left field and atop of the lineup, and played well enough to earn a scholarship.
 
"I'll never forget just bawling my eyes out in Coach Bryant's office because it was something I wanted so badly," Caruso said. "I wanted to tell my parents, 'Hey, you guys don't have to worry about helping me pay any more. I did it.' And when I did that, they cried, too. It was honestly one of the most beautiful chapters in my life."
 
Bryant says Caruso is "one of the great personal Stony Brook athletics stories," a determined and motivated player who seized opportunities and turned her goals into reality.
 
"Diane was incredibly driven from the start both to pursue her dream of a journalism career and to play Division I softball," Bryant said. "She worked so hard and was so determined to not just prove that she belonged, but that she could excel at the Division I level."
 
Caruso received all-conference honors and ranked in the top five in five different offensive categories as a senior. She batted .342 with nine homers and 40 RBIs in 149 at-bats that season.

She also was doing strong work in the classroom. A 2016 all-academic honoree, Caruso spent many late nights in the journalism school's newsroom. The journalism major requires students to create news packages, host shows, write stories and learn the ins and outs of the journalism field. Caruso also worked in the university's athletics communications department, filming games and creating weekly episodes for the athletics website.
 
"It was a lot to handle," she said. "But I told myself every single day that it was going to pay off, and I feel like it was worth it. Waking up at 6 a.m. and knowing I had to go to class, then practice, then more classes …  I've carried that work ethic with me every day. I still wake up at 6 a.m. and work out, go to work and do my job."
 
That job has become all the more important the past few months. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, Caruso understands the urgency to deliver news to the local community in a timely and accurate manner. It's her dream job, and Caruso has felt an increase in sentimental work in recent months.
 
"There are a lot of good days. There are a lot of bad days," she said. "There are people losing loved ones to this virus and they turn to you, and it's hard. Then there are days when people have good, uplifting stories. It's emotional every single day you come into work. The community has been counting on us as a local news station."
 
Caruso believes her time at Stony Brook — as a student and an athlete — prepared her for a journalism career.
 
Early in her college softball career, Caruso was forced to adapt in a pinch and deliver for her team in key situations.
 
Now, early in her journalism career, Caruso has been forced to adapt and step up for a community that leans on her for accurate and timely news.
 
"This stuff is going to be in textbooks one day," she said.