Samuel and Mallory met in July of 2014 at the Berlin Batting cages while Sam was working. Although they had known of each other because Mallory played basketball with Sam’s sister, Emma, they had never formally met before. Mal was with a group of her friends when she went over to say hello to Sam and the two hit it off. They stayed in touch through the remainder of the summer, but lost close contact throughout the next few years.

Fast forward to January of 2018, Sam reached back out to Mallory and asked her on a date to one of his favorite places up at UHart, where he went to college. That following summer, Sam and Mal officially started dating on June 22, one day before Sam moved to New Jersey to start his professional career. Throughout that summer, Sam would come home back to Connecticut every weekend to see Mal, where they began their life together and the start of some of their favorite “traditions,” like beach days in Rhode Island, ice cream dates at DQ, and just enjoying each other’s company anywhere they went.

After three years of dating, Mal finished college and they adopted their dog, Sandy “Dizz” Marie Oeschger-Sokolowski. The following spring, Sam bought the perfect ring for Mallory and on May 17th 2022, he proposed to Mallory in Chatham, MA, which is also one of their favorite places on earth.