FRIULI VENEZIA GIULIA, Italy– After a solid junior campaign for the Colonials, rising senior Kristyna Mala will be playing for her native country of the Czech Republic in the 2021 European Softball Championship, set to begin on June 27 in Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy.

The Czech National Team will open pool play as a member of Group C taking on Denmark on Sunday at 4:00 p.m., then the team will square off against Israel at 6:30 p.m. On Monday, they will finish off pool play with a matchup against Croatia on Tuesday at 8:00 p.m.

Mala appeared in 39 games in 2021, starting in 32 of them. She hit a modest .231 with three round-trippers and 10 RBI. She finished second on the team in runs with 24. Her first career home run came in a win over Oakland on March 27.

The rising senior was a member of the All-NEC Rookie Team after she batted .250 with four RBI in 72 at-bats in 2019. She owns a .230 career batting average as a member of the Colonials.

Mala is no stranger to this competition, playing as one of the batting leaders of the Czech team during this tournament in 2019. She batted .333 with a home run and a team-leading eight RBI in the 2019 tournament.

Mala and Czech Republic are a member of Group C alongside Israel, Croatia and Denmark. The tournament will take place in Castions di Strada, Ronchi dei Legionari, Porpetto, Cervignano, Castions delle Mura, all municipalities of Friuli Venezia Giulia and begin on June 27.