Taya de Alba signs letter of intent to play at Portland State
St. Patrick-St. Vincent High senior Taya de Alba smiles Monday while signing a letter of intent to play softball at Portland State next year. Matt O’Donnell-Times-Herald
By Matt O’Donnell, [email protected], @modonnellvth on Twitter
POSTED: 12/15/14, 10:19 PM PST |
The green Portland State hat Taya de Alba wore to her signing on Monday looked a lot like the green of St. Patrick-St. Vincent High School. The rain on Monday afternoon might have been similar to the Pacific Northwest as well.
The St. Pat’s senior signed a letter of intent on Monday in front of coaches, teammates and classmates to play with the Vikings next year.
She expects to pitch and play some first base and third base. De Alba plans to study business and administration or business and management.
“When we drove up, it was beautiful up there ... the trees and everything,” De Alba said. “The people are so nice. I dropped a dollar and a homeless man gave it back to me. I was like, ‘Oh, no, go ahead and keep it.’”
Portland State was 8-36 and 3-14 in the Big Sky Conference last season.
The coaches at Portland State recruited her while she was playing on the Bears 18 Gold team.
De Alba, who was also recruited by Holy Names, was sold after a trip to the school where she got to meet coaches and players in person.
“The girls are constantly encouraging each other,” she said. “You can tell they all want to be there. They all want to play and get their experience in. Their facilities are amazing and they all want to win. That’s what I want to do.”
De Alba will be playing her fourth year on the varsity program at St. Pat’s this spring.
Not the hardest thrower, de Alba has helped pitch the Bruins to the North Coast Section playoffs due to her excellent control and strong mental attitude. She said her mental game is the main thing that has improved in the last few seasons.
De Alba has been the Bruins top starting pitcher since her sophomore year.
“As soon as I got here, I knew I had to work for a position,” she said. “I knew right field was going to be it. I just worked and worked. Sophomore year came and I wasn’t expecting to be a starting pitcher. I thought I was going to be a second string. They threw me right into that. Obviously, it prepared me to be a leader and helped me come along in the varsity program.”
While the Bruins have posted a 43-17-2 record the last two seasons, they have lost to Salesian in the North Coast Section finals the last two years.
“I definitely want to go out with a bang,” she said about senior year. “I want to win (a section title) this year, that’s for sure. I want to be a leader for my team as always and take the team as far as I can.”
St. Patrick-St. Vincent High senior Taya de Alba smiles Monday while signing a letter of intent to play softball at Portland State next year. Matt O’Donnell-Times-Herald
By Matt O’Donnell, [email protected], @modonnellvth on Twitter
POSTED: 12/15/14, 10:19 PM PST |
The green Portland State hat Taya de Alba wore to her signing on Monday looked a lot like the green of St. Patrick-St. Vincent High School. The rain on Monday afternoon might have been similar to the Pacific Northwest as well.
The St. Pat’s senior signed a letter of intent on Monday in front of coaches, teammates and classmates to play with the Vikings next year.
She expects to pitch and play some first base and third base. De Alba plans to study business and administration or business and management.
“When we drove up, it was beautiful up there ... the trees and everything,” De Alba said. “The people are so nice. I dropped a dollar and a homeless man gave it back to me. I was like, ‘Oh, no, go ahead and keep it.’”
Portland State was 8-36 and 3-14 in the Big Sky Conference last season.
The coaches at Portland State recruited her while she was playing on the Bears 18 Gold team.
De Alba, who was also recruited by Holy Names, was sold after a trip to the school where she got to meet coaches and players in person.
“The girls are constantly encouraging each other,” she said. “You can tell they all want to be there. They all want to play and get their experience in. Their facilities are amazing and they all want to win. That’s what I want to do.”
De Alba will be playing her fourth year on the varsity program at St. Pat’s this spring.
Not the hardest thrower, de Alba has helped pitch the Bruins to the North Coast Section playoffs due to her excellent control and strong mental attitude. She said her mental game is the main thing that has improved in the last few seasons.
De Alba has been the Bruins top starting pitcher since her sophomore year.
“As soon as I got here, I knew I had to work for a position,” she said. “I knew right field was going to be it. I just worked and worked. Sophomore year came and I wasn’t expecting to be a starting pitcher. I thought I was going to be a second string. They threw me right into that. Obviously, it prepared me to be a leader and helped me come along in the varsity program.”
While the Bruins have posted a 43-17-2 record the last two seasons, they have lost to Salesian in the North Coast Section finals the last two years.
“I definitely want to go out with a bang,” she said about senior year. “I want to win (a section title) this year, that’s for sure. I want to be a leader for my team as always and take the team as far as I can.”
