Radford, Va. --Head softball coach Amy Kvilhaug finalized her 2005 recruiting with the signings of Hylton High School teammates Alex Roderick (Dale City, Va.) and Larissa Williams (Dale City, Va.) to National Letters-of-Intent.
Roderick, primarily a shortstop for the Bulldogs, will come in as a well-rounded softball player, who has the ability to play any infield or outfield position. A three-year starter, she is a three-time All-Cardinal District First Team and All-Northwestern Region second team member. She has earned Washington Post Prince William All-Extra and Potomac News All-Area First Team honors, as well as receiving Honorable Mention All-Met honors the past two seasons.
“We are extremely fortunate to have landed a player and person of Alex's caliber. We feel she was overlooked by many as a Division I prospect and will take full advantage of her ability. Her quickness will be an asset to us both defensively and offensively. She is also very well rounded, with experience at every position but pitcher,” stated Kvilhaug.
This season Roderick is currently batting at team best .426 with a double, five triples, nine RBI and 14 runs scored for the 10-4 Bulldogs. She also leads the team with 20 hits, a .491 on base percentage and a .660 slugging percentage.
“Alex is a super kid and extremely intelligent. She has a great family and best of all, her dad hails from Massachusetts, my home state,” Kvilhaug.
Williams has serves as the starting centerfielder under the guidance of Harry Bell at Hylton. She also sees time at catcher. The past three seasons, she has been named to All-Cardinal District second team. As a junior, she earned Honorable Mention All-Region and All-Extra Honors.
“We are very excited about the signing of Larissa. She brings so much to the table with her versatility on defense as well as her speed and power on offense. Despite her talent, we do not think Larissa has tapped into her full potential yet but see her developing into a superb Division I athlete and contributing tremendously to the program in her first year,” said Kvilhaug.
Currently, she is batting .340 (17-50) this season with a double, three triples and a team high two home runs.
“Larissa has the competitive drive, work ethic, and hustle that we look for in our recruited student-athletes. She also comes from a wonderful and well-educated family,” Kvilhaug.
Williams and Roderick also helped their summer league team BRYC Stingrays to a 16U championship at the 2004 FAST Fastpitch Nationals.
Williams and Roderick join pitcher Brittaney Brown (Chesapeake, Va./Hickory), infielder Anne Tatum (Troutville, Va./Lord Botetourt High School) and shortstop Jennifer Everhart (Purcellville, Va./Loudoun Valley) who signed with the Highlanders during the early signing period.
“We are very excited about the talent and attitude that our student-athletes of the class of '05 bring to Radford University and the softball program. We strongly feel that the program will only continue to get better with the addition of such quality players. With the returning players, coupled with our newcomers, we expect our team to be very competitive in 2006,” Kvilhaug said.
