Ally Carda: National Softball Superstar

Ally Carda is used to the attention.

This wasn’t the first interview for Pleasant Grove High School's standout pitcher, nor will it be her last. For a high school kid, Carda has plenty of experience dealing with the media.

“She’s a good talker,” said Eagles softball coach Chris Murray. “She’s done a lot of interviews, even on camera.”

The spotlight shines so brightly on the Pleasant Grove senior for good reason. Carda, a near celebrity in the softball world, is a member of the 2010-11 USA Softball Junior Women's National Team and was a gold medalist for the 2010 Pan American Championship team.

This past November, Carda officially signed a letter of intent to play softball at UCLA. The right-hander opened the season, her fourth as a varsity player at Pleasant Grove, with a no-hitter against Davis High School earlier this week. 

“We had heard about her three years before she even showed up here,” said Murray, who has been with the program for years but is in his first year as head coach. “I expected a marching band to bring her in. But here came this young girl with a little backpack on and sat down and didn’t say a word. She started out very quiet but has grown to be one of the leaders on this team.”

As a junior last season, Carda recorded 331 strikeouts with a 0.54 earned run average (ERA) and held hitters to a .083 batting average. She proved she could hit, too, batting a .512 average with 15 doubles and four home runs. For her efforts, she was named the Sacramento River Cats Softball Player of the Year in 2010 and was a member of ESPN RISE's First All-Tournament team in 2010 and 2009.

Elk Grove Patch headed out to a Pleasant Grove practice this week to put Carda's interviewing skills to the test.

How much has softball changed for you since you were a kid? Is it more of a job for you? Is it still as fun?

I still take it as something that is my passion, something that I love to do. That hasn’t changed at all, which is really good because I’ve been playing for years and years now. But yes, it has become a little bit more like a job now because I do something for it every day. Whether it’s mental, working out or on the field, there’s definitely a lot more to it now. But I definitely still have fun with it and every time I’m out on the dirt it’s worth it.

It's your senior season, did the four years go quick?

It flew by. I remember coming into the first meeting with our coaches and sitting down. Everyone had heard about me and I was hoping to do big things.

Speaking of, congratulations on playing for the national team. How does that work into the future?

The Junior National Team is a two-year commitment and hopefully if they get back to the Olympics, I can try out when I am older for the regular Olympics. You're with them forever as a family. It’s a huge honor.

How did they select you?

Over last summer, 42 girls tried out for the team in San Diego and 17 made it.

You’ve committed to UCLA. What led to that choice?

I love the Los Angeles area and I am always down there. But the key reason is that they are huge on family. They made my whole family feel real welcome, which was nice. I was real comfortable there and got to hang out with the girls in the clubhouse all the time. The other schools I went to just didn’t fit me as well.

Now that you’re heading to Southern California soon, what else do you like to do down there outside of softball?

I go to the beaches all the time down in LA. I love the beaches. Venice Beach or Huntington Beach, I’m always over there. The whole community down there I love, how everything is kind of big. I’m always in a little city in Elk Grove so it’s kind of cool going to a big city in LA.

Do you have career aspirations past softball?

I am definitely always going to have softball. My plan is to get into UCLA’s Communications Department and major in communications and broadcasting. We’ll see where that goes.

On the field, your hitting stats are just as good as your pitching stats. Do you consider yourself a hitter or a pitcher?

I consider myself both. If I had to pick one, I’d probably choose pitching. But my Dad always told me when I was younger that I need to be able to hit as well because if something ever happened with pitching and my arm, I need to be able to play somewhere else and do other things on the field.

Is there one you enjoy more?

I don’t know; that’s tough. I’d probably say pitching because that’s my passion. But I’m definitely willing to step up to the plate too. 

Your pitching statistics are so dominant. Is it hard to manage expectations of perfection every time you step out there? 

It is, because I know the girls always want to win and count on me to strike everyone out. But I think I’ve learned over the years to manage it and be comfortable out there.

What are your personal goals for this season?

This year, we definitely want to win the section as a team. But the personal goal for me is to be consistent every time I come out here. I want to shoot for as many strike outs, hit my spots every game and not let as many people on base.

Beating Elk Grove [High School] is a pretty big deal; is that circled on the calendar?

Yeah, we play them on Tuesday. That’s definitely a rival of ours every year. We probably make it a bigger game than it is because it’s still preseason. Elk Grove will be a rival, Sheldon is always good, and we have Oak Ridge in our league this year and they have a good pitcher as well. It should be tough.

Outside of softball, what else do you enjoy doing?

Normal teenage stuff. Hanging out with friends, going to the movies. There’s not too much to do out here (laughs).