East’s Sela Rodriguez (right) watches last week’s ASAA Division I state tournament from the East dugout. Photo by Stephanie Burgoon/Alaska Sports Report
Sometimes the best way to gauge a player’s value on the softball field is to take them out of the lineup and see how the team does in their absence.
In that case, East’s Sela Rodriguez was undoubtedly the Gatorade Alaska Player of the Year because the T-birds were not the same when she didn’t play.
When healthy, Rodriguez was a dynamic difference maker who elevated East to a state title last year and a spot in this year’s CIC Tournament championship game.
The 5-foot-8 junior went 14-3 in 19 appearances as a pitcher with a 0.97 ERA and 159 strikeouts in 78.2 innings. She struck out as many as 16 batters in a game and threw her first high school no-hitter in a 1-0 win over eventual state champion South on May 30.
At the plate, she batted .555 in 23 games on 35-for-63 hitting along with a career-high 12 home runs and 54 RBIs. She hit a home run in five straight games between May 17 to May 29 and racked up seven games with four RBIs or more.
At the end of the regular season, however, Rodriguez suffered a leg injury and missed the first day of the ASAA Division I state tournament. East went 0-2 in pool play.
When she came back Day 2, she played hurt, walking with a slight limp and moving from the left side of the infield to first base. She did not pitch as East went 0-2 and was eliminated. She went 2-for-8 at the plate with a double and home run, going yard on her final swing of the season.
Rodriguez owns a 31-5 career record in the circle. Photo by Stephanie Burgoon/Alaska Sports Report
Rodriguez is the third straight player to repeat as Gatorade winner, following South’s Emily McCutcheon (2023, 2022) and South’s Sabrina Jolin (2021, 2020, 2019).
Over the last 12 years, every Gatorade winner has come from either East or South. The T-birds had Rodriguez, Daisy Page (2018, 2016) and Taria Page (2015, 2014) while the Wolverines had McCutcheon, Jolin and Danni Desjarlias (2017).
The last player to win Gatorade not from East or South was West’s Pauline Tufi (2013, 2012, 2011).
Jolin, Tufi and former Chugiak star Nicci Ward (2004, 2003, 2002) are the only three-time Gatorade winners from Alaska.
Will Rodriguez be next?
The Gatorade Alaska Player of the Year award is the state’s most prestigious individual honor that dates back to 2001, when Service’s Abby Augdahl was the inaugural winner.
