Anchorage Daily News

Like most kids, Michelle Stratton got into her sport because of a parent. Stratton's father was a baseball pitcher. So naturally, when she first took to softball in the sixth grade, she had to try pitching.

"Pitching looked fun, so I tried it. Turned out I happened to be pretty good at it," she said.

And how. Stratton, a senior for the Colony softball team, is a four-year starter on the mound. With her repertoire of pitches -- fastball, change-up, drop, rise ball -- she's been baffling hitters for years.

But as good as she's been on the mound, she might be even better behind the plate.

Last season, Stratton hit better than .500. That precision at the plate is a big reason why Stratton will play next season at Northern State University, a Division II school in Aberdeen, S.D.

Also a third baseman, Stratton will likely spend more time hitting pitches in college than she will throwing them, said Colony coach Mike Stewart.

"Her strongest point is her hitting," Stewart said. "I plugged her into the No. 3 spot when she was a freshman. She's been consistent ever since."

The third spot, or clean up, is generally reserved for a team's best hitter so she can drive in runs. Stewart said Stratton is a line-drive hitter who can hit to all parts of the field.

Stewart said Stratton is a good pitcher, but her fastball may not be speedy enough for college.

"Her fastball is about 56, 57 miles per hour," he said. "The average for a college pitcher is 60 to 62 miles per hour."

Stratton's fastball has been fast enough to help Colony to an 8-1 start leading into this weekend. Five of those victories belong to Stratton, who pitched three of four wins during a season-opening trip to Fairbanks. She suffered her first loss on Wednesday to Bartlett.

Stratton admitted her fastball isn't her strongest pitch. But her drop ball consistently fools batters. As it sounds, the drop ball looks like a fastball but bites down at the last second.

Stratton signed with Northern State in November. She wanted to sign with a school well before the season so she wouldn't have to worry about it her senior year. She chose Northern State because she felt she could play right away.

"And it's a place where I can make a difference. They're right on the verge of having a winning record," she said. "I can be there to establish a winning tradition."

Stratton said she decided she wanted to play college softball as a high school sophomore. Once that decision was made, she gave up volleyball and basketball to play softball year round.

She's played on various summer league teams too. Last summer, she played with two teams; the Northern Stars, a team coached by Stewart, and the Fairbanks-based North Stars. She made all-star squads at two Outside tournaments last summer.

Stratton said she's never tired of the year-round commitment to softball.

She chose Northern State partly because of a quote sent to her by coach Terri Holmes.

" 'To play the game is good, to win the game is greater, to love the game is greatest of all,' " she said, adding that she used it as her senior quote.

Stewart said Stratton came in as a skilled freshman who understood the game.

"She's played for me for four years. I've watched her all the way through," he said. "She's learned how to play the game the way it's supposed to be played."

Find Ron Wilmot online at adn.com/contact/rwilmot or call 352-6712.

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