LA Tech Softball Signee Named Gatorade Player of the Year

Published Jun. 18, 2013 11:45 a.m. ET

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RUSTON – Louisiana Tech head softball coach Mark Montgomery lost a large senior class following this past season including some of his top offensive threats.

However, Montgomery can sleep tight knowing that help is on the way. One of the pieces to next year’s lineup puzzle is West Anchorage High School star Pauline Tufi, who was named the Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of Alaska for the third straight time.

The 5-foot-10-inch Tufi posted a 9-5 record in the circle this year for the Lady Eagles with a 1.61 earned run average, recording 140 strikeouts in 87 innings of action. She terrorized opposing pitchers as a senior, batting an eye-popping .842 with six home runs and 36 RBI along with a 1.474 slugging percentage.

An impressive student in the classroom – Tufi holds a 3.97 grade point average – she also earned the respect of the opposition during her high school career.

"Pauline Tufi is one of my favorite players I have seen in Alaska," said Andy Fowkes, head coach at South Anchorage (Anchorage, Alaska). "She is just a great kid who works extremely hard and gets the job done with no showing off."

Tufi will join a plethora of newcomers next year at LA Tech, including Tori Charters (Keller, Texas/Keller HS), Amanda Gray (Allen, Texas/Lovejoy HS), Taylor Penn (Forney, Texas/Forney HS), Kaitlyn Williams (Glendale, Calif./Herbert Hoover HS) and Bianca Duran (Westminster, Colorado/Western Nebraska CC).