Taking her position at home base, Junior Ellie Zellien carefully angles her feet toward the pitcher and raises the bat beside her, firmly placing her left hand atop her right. As the softball zooms towards her, Zellien swings, solidly batting the ball toward the outfield before taking off towards first base.
In mid-April of last year, the softball coaches of California State University Fullerton offered Zellien an athletic scholarship.
Zellien has since verbally committed to CSUF, although she still must go through the regular application process.
Following the same path as her mother and older sister, Zellien began playing softball at the age of seven. Throughout her softball career, Zellien has looked up to her mother and older sister as inspirations.
She started locally in Temple City Amateur Softball Association and travel ball softball, where teams are built on a pay-to-play basis. Zellien currently plays for her travel ball team, Ohana Tigers 18u Gold, in addition to being on the Girls Varsity Softball Team.
“Growing up I played a lot of sports, and softball is just the one I liked the most,” Zellien said. “I’ve been playing softball for so long and I’ve always been a very competitive person, but at a certain point, all the teams are as good as yours. So, you can’t get nervous and you need to realize that you’ve been playing the sport for so long that it just comes natural to you.”
Zellien’s main positions for the high school team are pitcher and shortstop, in addition to third base for her travel ball team.
“After I committed, I would be super nervous to play,” Zellien said. “I thought I couldn’t mess up because my college coaches would see. But my mom told me to just be myself and not beat myself up over trying to live up to other people’s expectations. I just needed to realize this.”
Zellien’s most recent achievements include being selected for the All-Area Softball Team in the Pasadena Star News and All-CIF in Division V, as well as being Team MVP in All-League First Team.
These particular awards reward several players, regardless of their position, in a specific region or league for their top performances and play records during games. The Girls Varsity Softball team also played through the first round of Division V CIF last year.
“Ellie’s passion is energizing because it picks me up and gets me ready for the game,” Junior Taylor Rose said. “Even if I’m not in the best mood, she gives off this vibe that gets you ready for what’s ahead. She has worked so hard to get to where she is today, and she has definitely earned everything she has gained from it.”
Zellien plans to continue playing softball for the rest of high school as well as throughout college. After earning her Bachelor’s degree, however, Zellien intends to stop playing to begin her career as a special education teacher.
“Ellie has put in a lot of hard work, drive and determination into regular practice, at home and with position-specific coaches,” Coach Allison Moranchel said. “As a parent, I’m so proud of how she has overcome certain challenges and become a stronger player both physically and mentally. As a coach, it makes me so excited to see that the end goal of playing college softball is there for her after everything she put into it.”
TCHS School Newspaper