Soileau celebrates with head coach Jude Dugas, left, and assistant coach Greg DeVillier. 

Loreauville High School pitching ace Alyssa Soileau has quite a few accolades to her name, including the school record for single-season strikeouts, career strikeouts, and just about every other pitching stat you can think of.

Now she can add “college pitcher” to her resume following a signing ceremony with LSU of Alexandria on Monday.

Soileau spent most of her senior year unsure about whether or not she would be making the jump to collegiate athletics. After the Lady Tigers’ playoff loss to Doyle this season, she knew she had to keep going.

“After our last game when we lost in the quarterfinals, I realized that I can’t lose the sport that I love the most,” Sileau explained. “I just figured, why now go when I have the opportunity? I’d rather not regret it. I love this sport and I want to set goals for myself and push myself to keep getting better and to achieve new things.”

Soileau received interest from several programs despite her short stature, something she says can be used as motivation for the rest of her Loreauville teammates.

“I’m 4’11”, so if I can do it, anyone can do it. You don’t have to be six-feet tall, if you work hard and believe in yourself you can get to that level,” she said.

Soileau’s softball career began at the age of five, and she got her start as a pitcher around the same time.

“My dad kind of pushed me into it,” she said of pitching. “We always would just kind of play around at my sister’s ball games, we’d be pitching on the side while we watched my sister play. I just stuck with it ever since because my dad pushed me to be better.”

Soileau has played travel softball with the LA Glory and USSSA Pride when not playing for Loreauville. That year-round game experience helped her to grow as a player, but what really gave her the edge over her opponents was a lesson from her father.

“Ever since I was young, my dad always had me focus on my mindset instead of the game,” she said. “He always said that the mind is the biggest part of the game, which it is. The stronger your mindset, the better you’re going to be. Softball is an easy game to fail in and you have to learn to turn that failure into fuel. When I get in the circle and into those pressure situations, I don’t let it phase me because I know we just take it once pitch at a time and that’s the way it’s been since I was a little girl.”

Soileau alternated pitching duties for the Lady Tigers, often making way for fellow senior Saydi Landry in the circle, but when head coach Jude Dugas knew he needed his best, Soileau got the call.

That pressure would be enough to rattle even the most seasoned players, but Soileau never let it throw off her game.

“I enjoy it a lot. I enjoy working hard and progressing as a pitcher every day,” she said. “Nothing is given to you, and my dad helps a lot with that because he always pushes me to be my best and never lets me fail.”

Soileau will be joining a program that notched a 38-14 record this season, going 20-6 in conference play and winning the Red River Athletic Conference Championship.

Soileau said she has plans to major in kinesiology with dreams to attend PT school after graduation to become a physical therapist.