Spring Break
Guided by Faith
Senior Ta'Tyana McElroy has been a highlight of softball program in more ways than one since she arrived in Corvallis four years ago
Noah Tinker
Issue date: 5/3/07 Section: Sports
"He told me if this was something I wanted to do then I needed to commit to it completely," McElroy said.
Her dedication paid off and she has since begun to use her own experience as an example when talking to younger players.
"I told them my first year was a rough one and I wasn't a good pitcher at all," McElroy said. "In fact I was a horrible pitcher when I first started off but I worked hard at it."
She still does.
A minor wrist injury was addressed over spring break and although it didn't keep McElroy from playing, it forced her to change her pitching style.
"At first I considered myself a power pitcher, and I just wanted to blow the ball by people," McElroy said. "Now I'm more of a finesse pitcher that focuses on making the ball move and getting miss-hits."
According to freshman pitcher Stefanie Draper, she attests to McElroy's work ethic. "She kept working hard everyday, even when she couldn't throw certain pitches," Draper said.
Having a teammate in fellow senior Brianne McGowan has also helped both McElroy and herself improve their games.
"We've learned a lot from watching each other because when you're pitching you don't get to really see what's going on," McGowan said. "So when you're watching someone else you're like, 'oh, ok she's doing that well, that's what I want to go off of'."
The two seniors aren't the only ones to benefit from their willingness to push each other.
To Draper McElroy is more than happy to share her knowledge to others.
"Yeah, when it comes to different pitches and spins if I have an initial question about a pitch she'll break it down for me," Draper said.
One area of her game that McElroy doesn't have to worry about though is her hitting. In her four-year career at Oregon State, the senior has had only one career at bat, which came last year in a 15-1 tournament victory against Loyola-Chicago.
"Oh, yeah!" McElroy chuckled as she recalled her lone stint at the plate, which came about by chance. McElroy entered the game as a runner for a teammate, but when the Beavers batted around the order her teammate couldn't come back in and McElroy was forced to go to the plate. But fortunately, she came through with an RBI single, leaving her average at a perfect 1.000.
Her dedication paid off and she has since begun to use her own experience as an example when talking to younger players.
"I told them my first year was a rough one and I wasn't a good pitcher at all," McElroy said. "In fact I was a horrible pitcher when I first started off but I worked hard at it."
She still does.
A minor wrist injury was addressed over spring break and although it didn't keep McElroy from playing, it forced her to change her pitching style.
"At first I considered myself a power pitcher, and I just wanted to blow the ball by people," McElroy said. "Now I'm more of a finesse pitcher that focuses on making the ball move and getting miss-hits."
According to freshman pitcher Stefanie Draper, she attests to McElroy's work ethic. "She kept working hard everyday, even when she couldn't throw certain pitches," Draper said.
Having a teammate in fellow senior Brianne McGowan has also helped both McElroy and herself improve their games.
"We've learned a lot from watching each other because when you're pitching you don't get to really see what's going on," McGowan said. "So when you're watching someone else you're like, 'oh, ok she's doing that well, that's what I want to go off of'."
The two seniors aren't the only ones to benefit from their willingness to push each other.
To Draper McElroy is more than happy to share her knowledge to others.
"Yeah, when it comes to different pitches and spins if I have an initial question about a pitch she'll break it down for me," Draper said.
One area of her game that McElroy doesn't have to worry about though is her hitting. In her four-year career at Oregon State, the senior has had only one career at bat, which came last year in a 15-1 tournament victory against Loyola-Chicago.
"Oh, yeah!" McElroy chuckled as she recalled her lone stint at the plate, which came about by chance. McElroy entered the game as a runner for a teammate, but when the Beavers batted around the order her teammate couldn't come back in and McElroy was forced to go to the plate. But fortunately, she came through with an RBI single, leaving her average at a perfect 1.000.
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