SB : Irvine newest Calif. native to join Syracuse
When asked how to best describe Syracuse freshman first basemen Tawni Irvine, her coach at Murrieta Valley high school, Ann Romero-Parks, blurted out her answer before the question was even finished.
‘Ultra-competitive,’ she said.
The multi-talented Irvine is the latest addition from the recruiting pipeline the Orange softball team has established in Southern California. This season she joined senior pitcher Chanel Roehner and junior infielder Nicole Miller as the third recruit in four years who has come from California.
When it came to accepting scholarship offers, Irvine, who was one of five players from her senior class to go on to play softball in college, was intrigued by the opportunity to compete on the other side of the country. She quickly made a connection when she took her official visit to SU during the summer.
‘I came on my visit in the summer right before my freshman year and just fell in love with the school,’ Irvine said. ‘The campus is beautiful, the academics are great and being a part of the team is awesome.’
Syracuse embarks on its final road trip this weekend, traveling to Pittsburgh for a noon doubleheader Saturday. The Orange fell to Canisius, 4-3, Thursday in Buffalo, N.Y.
The freshman Irvine has been a steady contributor in her first season for Syracuse (18-26, 9-7). She’s started 28 of the teams 44 games, mostly at first base and designated hitter, and is batting .215. She delivered the game-winning RBI against Niagara on April 8.
While the coaching staff is excited to have a player who can play multiple positions, Irvine has her sights set on becoming a regular at her most comfortable position.
‘They recruited me to play first base,’ Irvine said. ‘All through high school I played third, but because I was so tall they put me at first, and I got really comfortable there.’
Syracuse head coach Leigh Ross, who spends her summers recruiting players at summer tournaments, says Irvine was a perfect fit for what the coaching staff was looking for.
‘We liked that she was versatile, so she can play third base, first base and outfield,’ Ross said. ‘She’s just a very good all-around athlete. She also did very well hitting, and we were looking for something more to add to the offensive lineup. We were also looking for a corner player.’
The Orange softball team is currently represented by players from nine different states and Canada, though California is the only state represented by more than two players. Ross said that’s because of the high level of competition out West.
While Ross maintained there’s quality talent to be discovered all over the country, she singled out the Southwest especially. That’s because the large amount of quality players and teams from there create a competitive environment for developing special kinds of players.
‘There is so much ball that is being played out West,’ Ross said. ‘Especially in Southern California and Arizona, they play year round, and many of the athletes focus just on softball.’
Romero-Parks said a lot of the excess talent has to do with the weather in South California, which allows the players the entire year to work toward improving their overall game.
‘It’s fortunate that we have good weather here that allows the girls to play year round,’ she said. ‘(Softball) is also a sport that that girls have always played in California, along with volleyball, so it’s probably a bit more developed here than some other sports.’
Although Romero-Parks said Irvine’s ‘ultra-competitive’ nature has helped her get this far, she also believes she has a unique blend of intangibles that help to make her a special kind of player.
‘(She’s) a very knowledgeable player,’ Romero-Parks said. ‘She has not only the physical attributes and the height to play first and third, but she’ll do whatever it takes to win the ball game. … She never wanted to leave practice early and often stayed late.’
