MILFORD—One starred behind the plate at Foran. The other made her mark at shortstop for Jonathan Law.
Both took their softball talents to the Division I level.
Now, Danni Kemp and Jessica (Yanosy) Bataille will be honored together as members of the Milford Sports Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026. The induction dinner is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 5, at Grassy Hill Country Club in Orange.
For Kemp, a 2015 Foran graduate who passed away in 2017 at age 19, the posthumous honor adds another chapter to a legacy that remains part of the Connecticut softball community.
A three-sport athlete who also played basketball and volleyball, Kemp was a two-time All-State catcher and earned Southern Connecticut Conference MVP honors as a senior, according to her Hall of Fame biography.
Her ability to impact a game went well beyond one position.
When Stony Brook announced her signing in December 2014, Kemp had already collected more than 100 hits and 40 stolen bases through three seasons at Foran. She had batted .446 as a junior and also played travel softball for the Connecticut Charmers.
“Danni is a five tool player with power to all fields,” Stony Brook coach Megan Bryant said in that signing announcement.
Kemp went on to play for the Seawolves before her life was cut short by an inoperable brain tumor. She died March 10, 2017.
Her connection to the game has endured.
Foran’s softball field bears her name, and the annual Danni Kemp Memorial Tournament brings together Stony Brook, Fairfield and Sacred Heart in Milford. The event began in 2021, giving the college programs and the local softball community a continuing opportunity to honor her memory.
Bataille’s selection, meanwhile, follows her 2025 induction into the Connecticut Scholastic & Collegiate Softball Hall of Fame.
A 1996 Jonathan Law graduate, she was a four-year starting shortstop for coach Michele Chartier and capped her high school career by batting .469 with 20 stolen bases as a senior, according to her Milford Hall of Fame biography.
That season earned her New Haven Register All-Area softball MVP recognition, first-team All-South-West Conference honors and selection as a Connecticut High School Coaches Association All-Star.
Like Kemp, Bataille’s athletic résumé extended beyond the softball diamond. She also starred in basketball and volleyball at Law and is being recognized by Milford’s Hall of Fame for all three sports.
She continued her softball career at UConn, where she earned first-team All-Big East honors twice at shortstop and All-Northeast Region recognition.
The two softball standouts join a 2026 class that also includes Rhonda Boyd, Kat Kelly, Jim Leahy, Nick Newell, George Pfeil, Dennis P. Russell Jr., Walter Shimchick and Jonathan Law’s 2008 state championship baseball team.
For ticket information, contact Tom Blake at coachblake@optonline.net.
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