PORT ANGELES — Safely on base before her senior season even started, Port Angeles catcher Zoe Smithson swung on and connected on an offer to continue her promising softball career at Pacific Lutheran University.
Smithson and her coaches along with family and friends celebrated her signing her letter of intent to play for the Lutes with a recent signing ceremony at the Port Angeles Student Center.
“That was the dream,” Smithson said of signing to play with a four-year school. Smithson had been eyeing two-year Lower Columbia College and a potential reunion with fellow Roughrider Jada Cargo-Acosta before Pacific Lutheran stepped in.
“I had a visit a month or two ago and she [head coach Traci Barrett] showed me all the facilities, the weight room and everything,” Smithson said. “I had lunch with a couple of future teammates and a couple more gave me a campus tour. I really like the smaller class sizes.”
Last season’s Olympic League softball MVP behind the backstop, Smithson has been a stalwart behind the plate for the Roughriders since her freshman season.
“I remember her freshman year, our first game in Anacortes and Zoe was fighting for a starting spot,” Port Angeles head coach Randy Steinman said.
“Our other catcher was taking her SAT test that day, but the way Zoe performed that first game solidified her as the catcher for the Roughriders for the next four years. When the opportunity came, she jumped all over it.”
Smithson was a first-team all-league selection as a freshman, lost out on her sophomore season due to the pandemic and claimed league MVP honors as a junior.
“Now with her signing out of the way, we’re hoping she leads us back to Yakima [state tournament location] now that we are going to have a full season,” Steinman said.
“None of those awards were given. She’s worked hard in every aspect of the game and it wasn’t like she approached them, PLU approached her; they saw her playing and approached her. And it will be a great fit for her there, a great school and college atmosphere.”
Pacific Lutheran is getting a talented player as well.
“A very coachable athlete who is kind to her teammates and passionate about the game of softball,” Steinman said. “This is a year-round sport for her and she’s put the time in. She’s a right-handed thrower but a left-handed hitter and would be a great leadoff hitter, but with her power, we want her down around the three spot in the order.”
When asked to describe her game, Smithson said her bat was one of her biggest strengths as a player, along with her coachability and being a quick learner, all of which should help her out when she arrives on campus this fall.
Smithson said she thanked her parents Larry and Staci for their support, her coaches and all her teammates from club and prep softball.
