The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

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 playing softball when I was six," said Smith. "Having a dream you've been striving for for 10 years come true comes with an unexplainable feeling. 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 organization 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 potential was when I went to the Fastpitch Northwest's College Exposure Tournament in the summer of 2015," said Smith. "I had just finished my sophomore 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 others, 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 important 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 signature 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 culture 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 encouraging to my teammates, and help our team go far in conference 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 working out a lot. Developing as a pitcher is always something I have worked on, but also working on fielding and batting, too," said Smith, who travels four-plus hours each way for weekend practices with the Explosion. "My practices have become a bit more intense. I am also trying to prepare myself in the classroom, 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 support "from family, friends and coaches. I am so excited to see how the college atmosphere will help me develop as a softball player, and a person."

While at WWCC, Kosanke was a two-time NWAC All-American, an honor Edwards earned at Clackamas. Edwards is a senior at Boise State and Hudson is a sophomore at COI.