Dan MohrmannThe second a hitter steps into the batter’s box, Ali Kilponen is sizing her up.
And looking at Kilponen’s stats, it’s hard to believe that it’s going to be the batter who wins that showdown.
“I read my batters a lot,” Kilponen says. “I read where they are in the box, how they approach the box and how they’re swinging. I try to stay as confident as I can because they’ll see it.”
And she has every reason to be confident. As a sophomore, Kilponen repeated as the Class 4A player of the year and was instrumental in Valor Christian’s march to a second-straight state title. That analytical approach has served her well on the field and it will continue to serve her well off of it.
With her numbers (48-2 career record, 0.57 career ERA), she would be an asset to any softball team in the country. She was getting a hard look at Texas A&M, among other top programs.
But just like the way she sizes up a hitter that’s trying to take down, Kilponen was extremely analytical about her post-high school softball career and, more importantly, education.
She isn’t on the hunt for a national championship above all else. No, Kilponen, a junior, wanted to make sure that she was getting the most out of her college choice.
She wanted a school that worth playing for and one that fit with the path that she wanted to take her life on. And perhaps one of the biggest factors was the chance to take a financial burden off her family by combining those other two traits with a scholarship.
And that’s how she’ll end up at Colorado State.
“If I can get scholarships to help my parents pay for my education, that’s huge,” she said. “My main goal is to help my parents out by getting a scholarship so that I don’t have to put so much stress on them.”
But Colorado State can’t be the only school interested in giving arguably the top player in the state scholarship money, right?
Probably not. But when it happens to be one of the top schools in the field that she wants to study, it only made the decision much easier.
“Colorado State is ranked No. 2 nationally for vet school,” Kilponen said. “I want to be a vet when I grow up.”
(Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)
And just like that, a decision that has the ability to haunt student-athletes into their senior year of high school was made before she was even considered an upperclassman.
And with that out of the way, she just gets to focus on playing softball for the Eagles.
“Ali, since she’s been a freshman, has just been a good teammate,” Valor Christian coach Dave Atencio said. “She blends in well with the kids and always stays positive with them.”
And above all else, she has fun and enjoys the game of softball.
Her experience in what is still just a short time at Valor Christian has shaped the way that she approaches most aspects of her life. And as a result, she tends to go about most things in a carefree manner.
“I love high school softball,” she said. “I just get to play with all my closest sisters and I just get to have fun and just go out and play and represent Valor.”
It’s all fun and smiles. At least until a hitter steps into that box.
Then it’s all business.