Great athletes learn early on that there are two roads to take: the arrogant route or the humble route. With MHCC pitcher Alexis Hadenfeld, there is no doubt what road she’s on.
Hadenfeld was a winner of all-conference honors as well as All-American honors for Mt. Hood last season. She found out very soon that when you are a successful athlete, it is a sport in itself to stay level headed. “When coach Meadow called me and said I won those awards I was really surprised, and shocked at the same time. I wanted to be a little cocky, but I knew that wasn’t who I was.”

At the beginning of this season Hadenfeld felt that the team, “wasn’t as strong [as teams in the past], but I realized we were.” An example was a game against arch-rival Lower Columbia Community College; The Lady Saints teed off on their opponents pitching, racking up five home runs in the process.

The Lady Saints have lost two conference games the entire season, and one was to LCC, who are defending NWAACC champions. Hadenfeld could get a little cocky with a record like that but she decides to stay grounded. “After that game against LCC, I have had all the confidence in the world with this team.”

Hadenfeld has been a large part of the Saints’ success this season, adding a changeup to her arsenal that has made her an even deadlier pitcher. Head softball coach Meadow McWhorter said, “She has incredible movement and speed on her pitches. That makes her so effective. She’s gonna be a hard one to replace.”

A lot of pressure is directly put on a pitchers shoulders in a game but that doesn’t faze Hadenfeld: “It’s really exciting, but scary at times when you know most mistake are on you.”

Next season, Hadenfeld will be attending Utah State, a Division I school that has a short-handed pitching staff at the moment. Some people question community college players ability to play at a higher level but McWhorter is sold.

“She has the ability to play at the next level (Division I).”

The coach at Utah State is a former coach at MHCC and coached McWhorter during her time at Mt. Hood. “Coach Meadow helped out a lot with my chance to play at Utah State;” admitted Hadenfeld.

One of the biggest things Hadenfeld will miss is her teammates. She says “I’m gonna miss the fun-loving personalities. I love these girls, they are my family.”

The Lady Saints have the rest of this season to focus on, and with such a great record a lot of players might be on cruise control. But Hadenfeld said McWhorter doesn’t let the girls get too boastful.

“Coach makes sure we don’t get cocky, and lets us know to not let the wins go to our head,” said Hadenfeld.

McWhorter agrees. “They needed confidence, they got it.”