Seated in front of friends and family members at last week's collegiate athletic signing at Bethlehem's The Goosemen, Meghan Williams sported a navy and white polo shirt, similar to Salisbury's school colors.

The big difference was the Penn State University logo in the top corner.

Williams, who gave a verbal commitment to Penn State over a year ago, signed her letter of intent last Tuesday to continue her softball career as a Nittany Lion. She was one of three Falcons to sign their letters of intent.

"I went on campus for my unofficial visit, and I knew that's where I wanted to go," said Williams, who also had interest from Auburn University. "I had been thinking about Auburn, but getting on campus and getting the feel of everything at Penn State, I just knew."

Williams faced a tough decision when Penn State, which sort of came out of the blue as an option, and Auburn both sought the coveted Falcon infielder.

As a member of the Big Ten Conference, Penn State offered Williams more opportunities on the diamond, not to mention a closer destination from home than Auburn's 900-plus mile trek. Auburn, however, plays in one of the biggest stages in the Southeast Conference (SEC).

"Over the past year looking at it now, I really couldn't have made a better decision for myself," Williams said. "It was tough at the time because Auburn is in the SEC and it is a big time thing, but there are so many better opportunities for me in the Big Ten to be an impact player."

What made it even more difficult for Williams was that Penn State gave her an ultimatum to make her decision.

"Penn State kind of came out of nowhere," Williams said. "I wasn't planning on committing until around January. They kind of came out of nowhere and were like, 'You have two weeks to decide.'"

In the end, Penn State offered the perfect mix of academics and athletics for the Salisbury senior shortstop.

Williams fell in love with the softball team and school spirit immediately at a football game against one of the Nittany Lions' rivals. She'll be majoring in Engineering, something she has always wanted to do after siding against joining the military.

"I went to the Michigan and Penn State football game, and that was the game we went to that Penn State won in the fourth overtime," Williams said. "I was in the student section for that game, and to feel the school pride was something I was really looking for in a school.

"I really want to engineer in prosthetics. I wanted to be in the military for a long time, and my mom kind of didn't want me to do that. I wanted to stay involved with the military somehow. I really love the idea of engineering and the anatomy of the body, so I was thinking of things on how to combine that."

In addition to playing for Salisbury in the spring, Williams plays travel softball with New Jersey Intensity, one of the nation's top teams for college recruits.

Williams joins a Nittany Lions squad that finished 14-35 (5-18 in the Big Ten) last season, with a loss to Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament. Under second-year head coach Amanda Lehotak, Williams will be one of the incoming freshmen next year that will look to turn around a 19-50 record in the Big Ten over the last three seasons.

"They all have this love for the game which I've never really experienced before," Williams said. "You could feel everyone's love for the game just watching them play and watching them practice."