Tufi’s bat puts Alaska softball on the map in Conference USA
Pauline Tufi
The Louisiana Tech junior first baseman is the total package at the plate.
She ranks top 10 in the conference in home runs, slugging percentage, RBIs and walks.
In fact, half of her base hits this season have gone for extra bases [10 dingers, 5 doubles].
Tufi, of West High, is considered one of the two greatest softball players to come from Alaska.
She has broken school records in each of her first two years on campus, and this year she’s making a case for Conference USA all-star.
Tufi is tied for sixth with 10 home runs, seventh with a .607 slugging percentage, sixth with 23 walks and 10th with 33 RBIs.
Overall, she is hitting .280 in 38 games.
Here’s something crazy: She hit .281 as a freshman, .279 as a sophomore and is now hitting .280 as a junior.
She also pitches for LaTech in a pinch, earning a 3-0 record in four appearances. Last year she was the team’s closer and set a school record with six saves.
For her career Tufi has 26 homers and 112 RBIs – the second-highest totals for an Alaskan at the NCAA D1 level.
Anchorage’s Lillian Bullock collected a state record 34 homers and 138 RBIs during her career for North Carolina AT&T from 2008 to 2011.