Alayna Calvillo always does what she feels is best, both in the moment and for the future.
That means instead of batting gloves, it’s infield dirt on the hands as she steps to the plate.
“The bat just feels better in my hands that way,” the second-year Buccaneer outfielder said.
It also means forgoing two more years of collegiate softball in favor of a nursing degree.
With her immediate future no longer in question, Calvillo is giving 100% in the final weeks of her softball career.
“This is it and that’s OK,” Calvillo said. “I’m ready to play out these last couple of days or weeks with my teammates and work to make good things happen.”
Though Calvillo has opted to pursue nursing when she attends the University of St. Thomas (Houston) in the fall, that hasn’t slowed her impact for a resurgent Blinn softball program.
(Pictured: Blinn sophomore Alayna Calvillo lays down a bunt during a game against McLennan on April 24, 2024)
In two seasons under head coach Rick Church and assistant coach Jami Ingram, the Pearland High School graduate has compiled an impressive .443 batting average, 144 hits, 26 doubles, 10 triples, 92 runs, 73 runs batted in, and 27 stolen bases.
She has also helped spearhead a 34-18-1 mark this year that brought the Bucs within one victory of first place in the Region XIV South Division.
Church, now in his 25th season leading the Bucs, said Calvillo is the perfect combination of two very distinct types of softball players.
“There are players you remember for their stats and there are players you remember for their impact on the program,” Church explained. “We’re going to remember Alayna for both. She’s been so consistent with her bat and in the outfield, but at some point during her time here she made a decision along with some of our other sophomores to put Blinn back on the map, and that’s what she’s done for us.”
Statistically, Calvillo’s contributions are undeniable.
As the team’s primary number-three hitter in the lineup, she is hitting .461 this spring with a sparkling .522 on-base percentage. She also has asserted her plate discipline with 23 walks compared to just nine strikeouts.
On defense, a move from left field to center this season has done little to hinder her skillset, as she has committed just two errors in 85 total chances to go with a pair of assists.
“Hitting is great, especially when you come up with a big hit in a moment you need some runs,” Calvillo said, “but then there are those moments where you make a diving catch or throw out a baserunner and end another team’s rally. Anything I can do to help my team win, at that moment, I feel like that’s what I enjoy the most.”
(Pictured: Blinn sophomore Alayna Calvillo hauls in a fly ball in left field during a game against Navarro on Feb. 9, 2024)
Introduced to the game by her father when she was just five years old, Calvillo says she has always lived by one philosophy: play the game, not the position. That mindset has allowed her to float effortlessly around the diamond before finding a permanent home in the outfield. It’s that selfless attitude that Church says has elevated Calvillo to all-time status on the list of former Bucs.
“She plays at a high level for herself, for us coaches, and for her teammates because that is the standard she has set for herself,” Church said. “She also understands that getting to play this game at our level is a privilege and she continues to make the most of it.”
Church said that Calvillo’s aspirations to enter the nursing field have seemingly only intensified her desire to make a lasting impact at Blinn.
“When she first came here, Alayna was going to move on and play at the next level, but when she made the decision to pursue nursing, nothing changed in the way she competed,” Church said. “I’ve had to turn away tons of interested coaches looking to recruit her, and she knows it, but she continues to battle and compete the same way she did – if not more so – than when she got here two years ago. She wants everyone to know that when she leaves Blinn, she did so after giving everything she had left to give.”
Calvillo and the Bucs will conclude their regular season Saturday when they open the Region XIV Tournament against Paris Junior College in Houston. First pitch is slated for 2:30 p.m.
“I just want to go all the way to nationals with this team and our coaches,” Calvillo said. “I’m going to give 100 percent of what I have left for this game and aim to wrap everything up in a big way.”
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 47 NJCAA national championships since 1987.
