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Wednesday, February 15, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Outlaw Smith signs to play softball for WWCC
By Tom Mauldin
Correspondent
Sisters High School
senior and two-sport standout
Amanda Smith became the
fifth Outlaws softball player
in school annals to sign to
play college softball.
Smith joins ex-Outlaws
Dara Kosanke (Walla Walla
CC, Utah Valley State); Cassie
Hernandez (Blue Mountain
CC); Cassidy Edwards
(Clackamas CC, Boise State);
and Hailey Hudson (College
of Idaho).
Smith, a pitcher and first-
baseman for the Outlaws,
said signing with Walla Walla
Community College was a
dream come true.
“When I received my NLI
(National Letter of Intent), I
thought back to the dreams I
had when I first started play-
ing softball when I was six,”
said Smith. “Having a dream
you’ve been striving for for
10 years come true comes
with an unexplainable feel-
ing. As I signed it, there were
no doubts. I was ready to sign,
and knew I was ready to play
at the next level.”
Smith, twice named All-
Sky-Em League pitcher, also
plays for the USA Explosion
U-18 team, a travel team out
of southeast Washington.
In her two years with the
Explosion, Smith has played
in elite tournaments in
Colorado, Arizona, Utah,
California, Washington,
Nevada and Oregon.
Smith also has two years
experience with Fastpitch
Northwest, an organiza-
tion that evaluates players
who want to play at the next
level. If a player performs
well at a Prospect Evaluation
Camp, they are then invited
to a College Exposure
Tournament in Centralia,
Washington. It is there where
Smith caught the attention of
college coaches.
“Playing at the next level
has always been a dream
of mine, but finding that
I actually had the poten-
tial was when I went to the
Fastpitch Northwest’s College
Exposure Tournament in the
summer of 2015,” said Smith.
“I had just finished my sopho-
more year, and being able to
actually talk face-to-face with
coaches who were interested
in me was the moment I knew.
Not only were coaches talking
to me, but it really made me
passionate about my future in
softball, giving me the drive
to practice and begin to reach
out more to other colleges.”
Smith’s father, Dave, is
the head softball coach for the
Outlaws.
The 6-foot-1-inch left-
hander averaged more than a
strikeout per inning for last
year’s Outlaw team. She was
also the team’s leading hitter
in 2016. She said she chose
WWCC because it felt right.
“I chose WWCC over
others because it felt right,
whether I was on the field, the
campus, or with the team,”
said Smith, who recently
blocked 10 shots in an Outlaw
basketball win. “I didn’t feel
as nervous as I did at that
recruit workout over the oth-
ers, which was a natural sign
for me that it was the right
choice. I also chose WWCC
because the academics were
very open, which was impor-
tant to me because I’m not
quite sure what I want to do.”
WWCC Head Coach
Justin Speer said he was
delighted to get Smith’s sig-
nature on the Warriors’ letter
of intent.
“We couldn’t be more
excited to welcome Amanda
into our program,” said Speer.
“She’s a great kid with a ton
of potential. She also is a kid
that has great character and
works hard in the classroom
and on the field. I believe she
will fit into our program cul-
ture very nicely.”
Smith said off the field,
her goals are to push herself
out of her comfort zone.
“I want to give everything
in the classroom maximum
effort,” she said. “On the field,
I want to play with a team
mentality, and help my team
to go far. I hope to be encour-
aging to my teammates, and
help our team go far in con-
ference and postseason play.”
WWCC finished second
in the Northwest Athletic
Conference (NWAC) East
Division in 2016.
“To prepare for my future
at WWCC, I have been work-
ing out a lot. Developing as
a pitcher is always some-
thing I have worked on, but
also working on fielding and
PHOTO PROVIDED
Amanda Smith will play softball for Walla Walla CC.
batting, too,” said Smith,
who travels four-plus hours
each way for weekend prac-
tices with the Explosion. “My
practices have become a bit
more intense. I am also trying
to prepare myself in the class-
room, by staying on top of my
work, and balancing my time
well between academics and
athletics.”
Smith added that she could
not have done this without the
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