Page crushes grand slam, finishes with 6 RBIs for La Tech

February 24, 2018

Taria Page softball

Taria Page

It took Louisiana Tech softball player Taria Page of Anchorage one game to erase an early season slump.

The junior cleanup hitter enjoyed a historic day at the plate when she crushed her first career grand slam and added a two-run single in a 9-1 win over South Dakota in Ruston, Louisiana.

The six RBIs were the third-highest single-game total in school history.

This was her first home run and RBIs of the season, which could be the spark she needed to ignite a power surge. The .308 career hitter is batting just .171 in the first 14 games.

Page, of East High fame, is a feared bat because she’s a mix of discipline and destruction, reaching base in more than half of her plate appearances.

In fact, she is among La Tech career record-holders for reaching base at better than 40 percent.

Page doesn’t swing at many pitches outside the strike zone and when she does make contact the ball goes a long way.

The 6-foot-1 slugger sits just outside the top 10 in La Tech history for home runs [11], base on balls [58] and RBIs [80] after 118 career games.

Last season, she posted two single-season top 10 totals with 36 walks [fourth] and 42 RBIs [fifth].