Lake High School senior Hillary West never envisioned herself attending the University of Akron — until fifth-year head softball coach Julie Jones came calling.

The Flyers’ (8-3) catcher signed a national of letter of intent to play softball collegiately at Akron in front of a crowd of onlookers on Tuesday.

“It’s only going to happen once and you can’t help but smile because you know that not everyone else get this opportunity,” said West, who is hitting .395 (15-38) with a pair of doubles, two triples, and eight RBI’s in 11 games.

West credits her newfound success to offseason workouts with former University of Toledo coach Jo Ann Gordon.

“She has had the biggest impact on my softball [performance]. She has helped me so much and has made me into a much more effective and consistent hitter.  I have much better vision of the plate.

The 5-8, 150 pound West said Gordon has made her an all-around better player and was instrumental in her college recruiting process.  She said Gordon informed her of prospect camps and helped to spotlight her talents to area college coaches. She couldn’t be happier to have accepted the scholarship to Akron and understands the hard work doesn’t stop here.

She said she also wants to thank Lake coach Dave Rymers “for his help and extreme patience these last three years.”

“As hard as I’ve worked before, I’ll have to work twice as hard because when you play in high school not all of the girls are that good and you can get away with off days or bad days,” West said. “When you get to college, all of the girls are just as good as you — if not better — so you have to step up your game and make improvements to come out ready to go every day.”

West, a three-year varsity catcher at Lake, hit .274 last season and received honorable mention Suburban Lakes League honors, but is more confident at the plate this season.

“I walk up to the plate knowing that I’m going to get a hit. I have more doubles and triples this year in the first 11 games than the rest of my career. When I go up there, it’s like I know I’m going to get a hit so when I don’t, I’m actually surprised because there are no girls that should really throw the ball by me.”

West looks to carry this confidence to the University of Akron, adding that she loves the campus.  As of Thursday, the Zips were 18-19 (2-8) overall and sat in fifth place (of six) in the MAC East.

Academically, West is ranked 17th in her class at Lake and will receive an Honors Diploma. She is a member of the National honor Society. She is interested in studying physical therapy or possibly solar energy systems at Akron, but is currently undecided.

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