Alapese Matautia
Anchorage’s Alapese Matautia capped her softball career at Southwestern Oregon Community College in style.
The sophomore shortstop went 3-for-3, scored two runs and drove in a pair in Sunday’s 6-1 win over Clackamas in the title game of the NWAC Championship in Vancouver, Wash.
This was the first league crown for the Lakers of Monmouth, Ore., and Matautia was a big reason why school history was made.
The Bartlett High grad had an RBI double in the third inning to get the party started, giving SWOCC a 1-0 lead. She added a sac fly in the fifth inning as her team’s lead swelled to 5-1.
She finished 7-for-15 in five tournament games with two doubles, a triple and three RBIs.
The Alaskan was especially clutch in the semifinals when her two-run triple in the fifth inning powered the Lakers a 2-0 win over Clackamas and clinched a berth in the title game.
Alapese Matautia had a 2 RBI triple to help lead @swocclakers 2-0 over Clackamas and advance to the NWAC Finals! 🥎 #NWACsb pic.twitter.com/Oo3wg9lCoX
— NWAC (@NWACSports) May 20, 2023
What a season it was for Matautia, who was a legit triple-crown contender in the NWAC after finishing top-10 in batting average, home runs and RBIs.
She led the league with 90 RBIs, ranked third with a .527 average and was tenth with 16 homers.
Her RBI total was the most for a college player from Alaska since Fairbanks’ Kacey Duffield had 71 in 2016 for Indian Hills Community College and her 16 home runs are the third most by an Alaskan, ranking only behind Duffield’s 19 and Lillian Bullock’s 17 she hit for North Carolina A&T State University in 2007.
Matautia earned a spot on the NWAC Championship all-tournament team and was named South Region MVP and first-team infielder.