John Raffel
Sports Scene
Alyssa Nelson knows it might be a long shot, since Morley Stanwood has a young softball team.
But the Mohawks’ returning all-state senior pitcher wouldn’t mind making it a three-sweep when it comes to state titles.
Nelson was an all-stater for the Morley Stanwood teams that won state titles in volleyball and basketball this school year. She’s also the No. 1 pitcher for coach Andrea Raven’s softball team, a team that only has two seniors.
Two of Nelson’s teammates in the other two sports, all-staters Bailey Cairnduff and Alexis Huntey, aren’t with her during the spring. Cairnduff runs track and Huntey plays AAU volleyball while getting ready for her college career.
But Nelson is looking for another solid season as a pitcher and doing her best for the Mohawks.
“I need to be working on executing and getting that first strike,” she said. “Other than that, if my confidence holds up, I think I’m doing pretty well for my team.”
Her season debut was a 4-0 loss to Pine River.
“I think my confidence got down a little bit,” she said. “As long as the intensity goes up, I know I have a team behind me.”
It’s Nelson’s fourth varsity season and she’s obviously hoping it will be her best.
“I’ve worked a lot on my form during the off-season and getting it down,” she said. “I’m hoping to throw harder and pitch more pitches and be able to hit my spots a lot better this year.”
“This year I feel so confident,” she said. “I’ve been playing softball since I was nine years old.”
Last fall, in Morley Stanwood’s 3-2 win in the Class C state title volleyball match over St. Mary Catholic Central, Nelson had 11 assists. In the recent Mohawk Class C basketball state title win over University Liggett School, Nelson was 4-of-4 from the free throw line for four points. She also had eight rebounds in 28 minutes of play.
While fall and winter are taken up with volleyball and basketball, both spring and summer are filled with softball. “I’ve been on a summer team since I was nine,” she said. “I’ve played every summer since then. I haven’t quit.”
Her change-up is Nelson’s best pitch. She’s been working on her rise.
“I know a lot better this year on where I want to throw it,” she said. “I’m a lot more experienced than I was my freshman and sophomore years.”
A handful of freshmen were moved up to this year’s Morley Stanwood team, putting an additional leadership role on Nelson’s shoulders.
“We’re definitely very young,” Nelson said. “If I encourage the freshmen more…I think they’ll look up to me.”
Morley Stanwood coach Andrea Raven has seen her ace pitcher improve each season that she’s been on the varsity.
“Last year, she was at her most dominant,” Raven said. “She did a nice job of getting hitters out by strikeout, which is important for pitchers.”
For 2012, “she has a good start going,” Raven said. “She has to work a little bit with her command, which is typical of this time of year.”
Nelson isn’t surrounded by many members from the Mohawk state championship teams in volleyball and basketball, but she still feels a momentum boost in softball from what those two squads accomplished.
“Being on one of the best teams with basketball and volleyball puts pressure on softball,” Nelson said. “We have a lot of work to do and need to work hard.”
Nelson, Raven noted, is one who has been working hard.
“She and our catcher, Sam Carey, worked a ton this winter, going right from basketball practice to hitting, pitching, and catching,” Raven said, noting that Nelson’s off-season work “has helped with her mechanics.”
The number of Nelson’s innings in the circle will depend on various factors, Raven said.
“If other pitchers stay healthy, she’ll stay the same as last year,” Raven said. “If there’s a need, I’m sure she’ll be able to hit more.
Nelson had her best hitting average as a sophomore, when she hit in the high .300s. As a batter, she “has a lot of power,” Raven said. “Her batting average is solid, for sure. She’s the type of girl that can change a game with one swing of the bat.”
Nelson plans on attending Grand Valley State University after graduating from high school. At this time, she’s not planning on playing softball.
“That might change,” said Nelson, adding that if she does try out for a college sport, it would be softball.