< Back | Home

From the pitching circle to academics, Ta'Tyana McElroy has become a model student-athlete for the OSU athletics program. She has also been a part of the Rebuilding Baseball in Inner-cities program since her days growing up down in Los Angeles.

Guided by Faith

Senior Ta'Tyana McElroy has been a highlight of softball program in more ways than one since she arrived in Corvallis four years ago

By: Noah Tinker

Posted: 5/3/07

Ta'Tyana McElroy doesn't give up easily. The senior softball pitcher, who turned 22 on Monday, rarely fails to accomplish any goal she's set her sights on whether it's in school, softball or life.

"It was just persistence that helped me to get to where I'm at now," she said.

Which, if one looks at her resume, are many places.

A starter with a 14-8 record for the No.13 Beavers, she also earned a spot on the second team Pac-10 Conference All-Academic squad, is a member of the Boys & Girls Club and a motivational speaker for RBI (Rebuilding Baseball in Inner-cities).

Balancing all these demands and responsibilities can be a bit tough though.

"It's definitely been difficult to balance both academics and softball but I just have to prioritize and manage my time as well as I possibly can," McElroy explained. "Sometimes I don't sleep to get stuff done and I try not to procrastinate. I think that's been the biggest thing that's helped me."

McElroy first got involved with RBI as a youth growing up in Los Angeles.

"I've been a part of RBI since I was 12, they've helped me so much softball-wise by just being able to play on a competitive softball team for free. And then academic-wise, they pay for SAT courses and tutoring so they helped a lot with my success in high school," McElroy said.

So, too, did her father Jim, who helped coach his daughter at Washington High School in LA.

"One day, he came home and asked me if I wanted to play softball and I just said 'yeah'," McElroy said. "I think I was eight when I first started playing and ever since he's been a great coach and always pushing me to succeed."

According to McElroy, it was a dictum from her father that helped keep her focused on self-improvement.

"He told me if this was something I wanted to do then I needed to commit to it completely," McElroy said.

Her dedication paid off and she has since begun to use her own experience as an example when talking to younger players.

"I told them my first year was a rough one and I wasn't a good pitcher at all," McElroy said. "In fact I was a horrible pitcher when I first started off but I worked hard at it."

She still does.

A minor wrist injury was addressed over spring break and although it didn't keep McElroy from playing, it forced her to change her pitching style.

"At first I considered myself a power pitcher, and I just wanted to blow the ball by people," McElroy said. "Now I'm more of a finesse pitcher that focuses on making the ball move and getting miss-hits."

According to freshman pitcher Stefanie Draper, she attests to McElroy's work ethic. "She kept working hard everyday, even when she couldn't throw certain pitches," Draper said.

Having a teammate in fellow senior Brianne McGowan has also helped both McElroy and herself improve their games.

"We've learned a lot from watching each other because when you're pitching you don't get to really see what's going on," McGowan said. "So when you're watching someone else you're like, 'oh, ok she's doing that well, that's what I want to go off of'."

The two seniors aren't the only ones to benefit from their willingness to push each other.

To Draper McElroy is more than happy to share her knowledge to others.

"Yeah, when it comes to different pitches and spins if I have an initial question about a pitch she'll break it down for me," Draper said.

One area of her game that McElroy doesn't have to worry about though is her hitting. In her four-year career at Oregon State, the senior has had only one career at bat, which came last year in a 15-1 tournament victory against Loyola-Chicago.

"Oh, yeah!" McElroy chuckled as she recalled her lone stint at the plate, which came about by chance. McElroy entered the game as a runner for a teammate, but when the Beavers batted around the order her teammate couldn't come back in and McElroy was forced to go to the plate. But fortunately, she came through with an RBI single, leaving her average at a perfect 1.000.

"The only thing I told myself was, 'if you get out you're going to have a .000 batting average and you're never going to have another at bat again, you might as well get on," McElroy recalled.

Although retiring her bat wasn't her idea, McElroy doesn't mind.

"No, it wasn't my decision, but it was a good decision to just focus on pitching," she admitted. "Hitting is fun and I enjoy it, but I know it's best for the team to have someone else hit for me."

The ability to focus is important to McElroy and one of the reasons why OSU appealed to her.

"I am a city girl, but I wanted to come to a smaller city to slow down and focus more on academics and softball, plus not have so much going on around me," McElroy said.

The transition from such a huge metropolis was a bit tough initially, but her coaches helped her deal with the change by having her concentrate on what she could control.

"They've taught me how to be more of an emotional player, but to have that under control," McElroy said. "At first, I never showed any emotion and I was hard to read. Now my teammates can feed off me better and I give more energy to my teammates. I'm able to express my emotions and still have that under control."

The move had other benefits as well.

"It's definitely made me stronger as a person and I've definitely learned so much about myself and built character," McElroy said.

Part of that character extended to helping out new teammates to the slow pace of life in Corvallis.

"We both helped each other out because we got here at the same time and we went through similar things together," McGowan said. "We were both freshmen and got to grow through the whole process together. It's really nice to have someone to help you through that."

The camaraderie of her teammates also helped remind McElroy of the joy's of the sport.

"It's fun to especially be around my teammates and it's a stress reliever," McElroy said. "I'm at peace when I'm here at the field. It's my time to myself and even though I'm around my teammates, it's just my time to focus in and have a good time."

McElroy's attitude is something her teammates admire.

"She's a huge contributor to our team mentally and physically," McGowan said. "She's always there cheering everyone on and then she takes the field and leads by example."

Draper agreed.

"She has a huge impact on our team from a teammate and friend standpoint," Draper said. "She made it feel like we were going to be part of the family. She leads by example and watching her makes me want to fill her shoes."

Before her time here is over at OSU, McElroy still has things left on her list to take care of.

"I'd really like to beat Arizona," said McElroy of the Pac-10's top team. "That would be a great goal to accomplish."

In order to do so, McElroy looks to her faith to carry her through.

"It's definitely made me a better player to just let go and just trust that if it's God's will, it will be done and it's out of my hands," McElroy said. "Because I've done the preparation and so my faith just helps me focus and have fun while not worrying about outcomes."