Prep profile : Alden proves to be quite a catch for Central Valley, Rutgers

Mickenzie Alden’s first exposure to catching came one summer in a Spokane Valley Girls Softball Association youth game.

Six years later, the Central Valley senior has caught on at Rutgers, accepting a full ride to play softball there.

Like that chance introduction to the position in the SVGSA – “primarily because I was the only one who could throw to second,” she said – the scholarship came like a bolt out of the blue.

“I didn’t want to go to the East Coast,” Alden said. “I was set on staying here.”

But the Scarlet Knights coaching staff, which saw her at a showcase tournament in Florida last fall with the Spokane Sliders, was set on her joining their program. They were persuasive enough to secure a visit and sell Alden on the team.

“They told me it was a deal I couldn’t refuse,” she said. After talking it over with her family she took it.

Alden is completing her fourth year starting behind the plate for the Bears. And this, said coach Jeff VanHorne, is her best season.

All-Greater Spokane League last year, Alden is the second-leading hitter in the GSL (a .591 average following Tuesday’s 2-for-3 outing). She has five triples and five home runs and is among the runs batted in leaders with 23.

“She’s been a role model for the rest of the team and a team leader all four years,” VanHorne said.

Alden said she has always been called a natural leader.

“I’m always talking to the defense,” said Alden of her penchant for chatter. “That plays a key part in being a catcher.”

Alden developed her skills playing for Shadle Park coach George Lynn’s Sliders, beginning with U14. She had been a corner infielder while playing in Nevada before moving to Spokane Valley.

She said she tried out for the Sliders only because a friend asked her to go along to the audition. Her arrival coincided with the emergence of current Highlanders pitching star Sam Skillingstad.

“I was kind of thrown into the fire when I had to catch for Sam right away,” Alden said.

As Skillingstad added pitches to her repertoire, Alden was the one behind the plate refining her position as well.

“Not only was she growing as a pitcher,” said Alden, “hugely important, I was growing as a catcher at the same time. Having someone that good, made you look good. I learned the way pitches work and it made me a better athlete.”

The scholarship to Rutgers couldn’t have come at a better time. Rutgers has become a football power and the women’s basketball team reached the NCAA finals. Maybe, said VanHorne, Alden can help softball reach similar stature.

“She’s done everything she had to do,” said VanHorne. “The hard work has paid off. I’m going to miss her.”