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The main lobby at St. Vincent Pallotti High School in Laurel was filled with balloons, cold cut sandwiches, cold drinks and a host of well-wishers Monday afternoon as the school honored senior softball player Kelly Trimble, who signed her letter of intent with the University of Maryland.

Trimble, a Gazette-Star All-County First Team selection last spring, signed despite a temporary splint on her right hand after surgery last week on her broken pinky finger. A .414 career hitter at Pallotti, Trimble drew recruiting interest from schools in the Atlantic Coast Conference and Southeastern Conference. But all she wanted was to be a Terrapin.

"Ever since I was a little kid, I wanted to play for Maryland," Trimble said. "Both of my parents [Frank and Carolyn Trimble] went to Maryland and my sister [Caitlyn] is a senior there now. I probably went on 15 unofficial visits to schools in the ACC and SEC, but I always knew that I wanted to go to Maryland."

Trimble also nearly followed in her sister's footsteps and attended St. John's College High School in Washington, D.C., but former Pallotti coach Paul O'Brien caught a glimpse of her at one of the school's clinics for seventh- and eighth-graders and realized the catcher could be something special. O'Brien heavily recruited Trimble and convinced her to attend the Laurel private school. But O'Brien won't be there to coach her this coming spring, as he recently accepted the hitting coach job at Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania and turned over the program to Mike Gleason.

"When I first saw her at the clinics, I knew she was not swinging the bat like any other eighth-grader," O'Brien said. "She's always set her goals high and she's overcome all of the doubters who said she couldn't get to that level. For a kid like her to say from day one that she was going to play for Maryland and then to go out and actually be able to do that is just remarkable."

Gleason, the former Prince George's Community College softball coach, is eager to see her progress next spring.

"She's one of those kids that just doesn't give you 100 percent every day, she gives 110 percent," Gleason said. "She's a coach's dream."

In another signing, Pallotti senior Shelby Lyles last week signed her letter of intent to play lacrosse for Mount St. Mary's University in Emmitsburg. Lyles, an Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference first-team selection the past three years, is looking forward to the spring. She played field hockey for the school in the fall and will play basketball for the Panthers this winter.

"It meant a lot for me to sign with Mount St. Mary's, because they were actually my top choice," said Lyles. "Now I want to help us win a championship. I want to keep looking ahead. I really can't wait to get started."

E-mail Ted Black at tblack@gazette.net.