St. Pat’s Campbell is female Athlete of Year
Bruins catcher batted .525 with 27 RBIs, six homers in 18 games
St. Patrick-St. Vincent High 2021 graduate Alicia Campbell sets her goals very high.
In her first three games of the past softball season, the catcher went 3-for-9 with six runs scored and one RBI and extra base hit. Not a bad start, a .333 batting average to help the Bruins go 2-1. Most softball players would be thrilled.
But then again, Campbell isn’t your normal softball player. She’s an exceptional and unique player. She’s not a onehit wonder. Give her the Beatles, the Stones, the Clash. Forget the Twilight books, Campbell is the Fahrenheit 451, Catch-22, 1984 and to Kill a Mockingbird of her sport. She expects more and will settle for only top-notch results.
A .333 batting average? Ha! That’s for tourists!
“I really wanted to get a bunch of awards so I’d get recognition to play ffor the Premier Girls Fastpitch All American team in my region,” Campbell said. “So I put a lot of pressure on myself and I had just missed being part of big moments. I have a lot of confidence and I like to prove how well I can play. When the chips are down I like to prove I can deliver.”
On March 16, Campbell, at least in her own eyes, began to deliver. In back to back games against Berean Christian and Salesian, she went 3-for-5, including her first home run of the season against Berean and a five-RBI game against Salesian. She was back, and she knew. The nightmares for opposing pitchers were starting.
Campbell, known as “Lici” to her teammates, coaches and friends, not only was able to make the Premier Girls Fastpitch All American Team, she is now able to chalk up another accomplishment — 2021 TimesHerald Female Athlete of the Year. The other three candidates, American Canyon’s Katie Robinson, as well as Benicia’s Bailey Sample and Madison Salinas were also exceptional and have promising careers on and off the field, but in the end we went with Campbell as our winner.
The St. Pat’s catcher said after hitting her first home run of the season, and getting it out the way, she seemed to be more relaxed and calm at the plate. Her co-head coach Rich
Gigliotti also had to remind her that, “Hey, this is supposed to be fun as well.”
“I mean, it’s all relative,” Gigliotti said about Campbell’s production. For most kids if they hit .400 they would be doing cartwheels.
“She’s very dedicated and wants it really bad,” Gigliotti continued. “She’s not afraid to put in the work. Early in the season she was a stressing, not a whole lot, but enough. She had to get her head right. She hit a home run to right field (against Berean Christian) and it was around that time I told her, ‘Hey, you are who you are. Everyone knows how good you are. Relax and have a good time.’ And I think she responded with a ‘You know what, I am good. I can do this.'”
The production that came in next 13 games was well worth the wait for the catcher who transferred from Benicia High after her sophomore year. She had to sit out her junior year due to transfer rules, an injury and, oh yeah, that 2020 pandemic, but when she finally had the chance to play her senior year she made the most of it.
Against Northgate she went 2-for-4 with a homer. Against Concord on April 6, she went 4-for-5 and scored four runs. Against Clayton Valley Charter she was 3-for-4 with another homer. She had a threehit, two-homer game later in the year against Salesian and then another four-hit game against Northgate on April 22.
“After I hit that first home run against Berean Christian I knew I was going to be alright and all the great games were going to keep going and going,” Campbell said. “It was all uphill after that.”
Then there was her defense. Early in the season she threw out a would-be base stealer. After that, word got around the league — don’t run on Campbell.
“She’s such a weapon
behind the plate,” Gigliotti said. “One of the first games someone tried to steal and she threw the runner out. So the rest of the game and basically the rest of the year nobody ran on her. Her reputation proceeded her. She completely took away that part of the game for opponents.”
Campbell is headed to play college softball at Oregon State in the fall but until then she continues to play for the Premier Girls Fastpitch All American team. In fact, this Saturday she will be featured on ESPNU at noon as her team competes in Southern California. But she is excited to play for the Beavers and she knows winning the Female Athlete of the Year will help early on with her confidence.
“Looking back I’ve had multiple injuries I’ve had to come back from and try to come back as the player I was or even better,” Campbell said. “I feel this important (winning the award) because it showed I can face adversities and overcome them. It shows that all my hard work and dedication was worth it. Also, Oregon State knows what they are getting now. They know what the deal is. And I know that if I want something I have to ability to go out and get it.”