A pitcher by day, a mother by night

Michele Westmorland turns many heads when she first steps onto the field for Clark's softball team. Fact is, she's not exactly your run-of-the-mill young college player. A single mother of three, Westmorland is nearly a decade older than most of her teammates.

Instead of heading out to celebrate with her teammates after a win, Westmorland is more likely to rush home to throw another load of laundry into the wash, help her children with homework or maybe find time to work on her own.

Westmorland started playing ball when she was 6 years old, and she hasn't stopped. She played for the Amateur Softball Association of America, played for a slow pitch team, coached and is now a pitcher for Clark.

After graduating from Fort Vancouver High School in 1996, Westmorland went about her adult life. She played softball with adult leagues and started her family in 1999 by having her first child.

Westmorland's children – ages 3, 9 and 11 – also play ball. She takes her oldest daughter to her personal pitching coach for lessons.

"With the economy being so bad, I had been laid off from my job," Westmorland said. "I figured there would be no better time to return to school."

Last fall she returned to school and played fall softball for Clark, all while taking 16 credits, managing a household and running a family.

During her offseason, she said she decided to really buckle down and get ready for spring season softball. She started getting in better shape and worked with any catcher she could find to practice pitching. When the time came, she tried out for Clark's team as a 32-year-old freshman.

Her teammates jokingly have dubbed her "Nana," which she said she just laughs off while sharing smiles and laughs. She said she has gotten guff on the field for her age from other teams and just uses it as ammo to strike them out.

Softball head coach Kasey Powers had nothing but good things to say about one of his star players, who is only 7 years younger than him.

"(Westmorland) has a great attitude," Powers said, "and it seems as if the whole team likes to have her around."

Powers said Westmorland's hard work and great attitude earned her playing time and a spot as one of the pitchers.

As if her schedule isn't full enough, she also bowls in tournaments and leagues, umpires for adult games – which she compared to sitting in a quiet room watching paint dry – and is a pitching coach at Extra Innings. Her children also bowl and enjoy coming to her games with their grandma or another member of Westmorland's support team.

Westmorland talked about how much her support team of her mother, sister and father really make this possible. She said time management is the key to her success thus far.

Teammate Kelsey Eason, who plays second base, cited Westmorland's knowledge of the sport as one of her best qualities on the field.

"She really knows the game," Eason said. "She has more experience and can move that ball around!"

Westmorland is a sociology student who plans to transfer after she gets her associate's degree. She will continue to play softball no matter where she goes.

It is safe to say that Westmorland is not your average college athlete, but Powers said that is what's so great about her.

"Having nontraditional players on the team shows people that no matter what your situation is in life you can change it, better it or simply chase your dreams," Powers said. "Don't limit yourself by what others say you can or cannot do."