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Pokora leads her team in virtually every offensive category including batting average, home runs and RBIs. She has even improved on a fantastic sophomore season when she won team MVP honors and made first team All-Little East.
“I knew it was going to be hard to maintain what I did last year,’’ Pokora said. “I’m happy with the way things have gone so far.”
Lacrosse is the sport of choice for a majority of Wilton girls. When she was younger, Pokora’s friends asked her to consider it. “I never picked up a lacrosse stick,’’ Pokora said. “It’s not something I even looked at. I took up softball and ran with it. I don’t see myself being a lacrosse player any time soon.”
The decision proved to be the right call for Pokora. She earned all-state and all-league honors at Wilton and has been a three-year starter in college. She hit .350 in her first year, and even earned all-tournament honors in the Providence Regional of the NCAA Tournament as a freshman. Her eight home runs last year tied the school’s single season record.
This spring, Pokora is hitting .436 with seven homers and 24 RBIs. Her slugging percentage is a ridiculous .736. She has 18 career homers, just two away from tying the school’s all-time record.
“In college, it’s a lot more about fine tuning your skills,’’ Pokora said. “I’m fine tuning everything. In college, you’re expected to know everything. The biggest thing is adjusting day by day, and doing what needs to get done.”
Pokora has helped Rhode Island pick up 81 wins over the last three seasons. “It did and it didn’t,’’ Pokora said when she was asked if she was surprised to have an impact as a freshman. “I’m here to do the best that I can for my team and perform for my team. It took a little bit to get on track, but I was able to help my team.”
Even with her impressive offensive statistics, Pokora feels she can improve. “I don’t like to dwell on the past,’’ she said. “I look and the numbers and crunch them, to see where I can add something. I think this summer I’m going to focus on my outfield skills. I have some things to work on there.”
Pokora and Rhode Island College play this week in the Little East Conference tournament, and hopefully advance to the NCAA Tournament.
“I think we’re all looking for a strong ending,’’ Pokora said. “Hopefully we’ll make it past the conference tournament.”
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