Alyssa Pinto, a talented outfielder and first baseman, was one of the first 2018’s to commit when she choose Washington.

When we first met her, Alyssa and her family were moving to Texas from Washington and though she’ll still be in the Lone Star State she’s decided to play for a team in the Midwest, the Beverly Bandits based in the Chicago area and a perennial candidate for a top 5-10 finish at Nationals.

We heard from her father Gabe a week ago about the transfer of teams when he wrote, “Alyssa will be traveling from San Antonio to Chicago and will get to play with fellow UW commit Taran Alvelo.”

I asked him about the transition and how it came to be; here’s what the freshman’s father wrote:

 

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While we were at PGF this year Alyssa was able to meet up with another 2018 commit Maddison Banks, another 2018 committed to Washington who also plays for the Beverly Bandits 16U team.

I told her parents that we were going to be looking for a team this fall. We joked about Alyssa going playing with Maddie at the Bandits.

Well, when we returned from PGF we sat down and actually considered seeing if we can make this move work. I figured with my military discounts on flights and Alyssa being able to stay with the team at the hotel for the weekend, we might be able to work this so I called Maddie’s dad and he spoke to Bill (Conroy), head of the Bandits organization) about it.

Bill called me about two weeks ago and said if I can get Alyssa to Chicago, she would be able to stay with a host family for the weekend and then fly back Sunday nights after playing.

That works out good for the Fall since they are only playing in a few tournaments. In the summer she will stay with the Banks family so Alyssa doesn’t have to fly back and forth.

Bill decided it was better for Alyssa to play with his team this fall since most of the 16U were playing in showcases and most of the girls need the exposure. Since Alyssa is already committed and after talking to some softball sources about Alyssa he felt she would be a good fit on his team.

Alyssa is excited. I am coaching a Firecrackers 16U team in San Antonio which is where Alyssa will continue to practice and get her work in when she is not with the Bandits.

I will send her to Chicago for a practice weekend at least once before tournament play starts for them. As a parent we do what we have to for our kids. We are just lucky enough that Alyssa’s play on the field, personality and character speaks for itself.

We truly believe Alyssa will be challenged and learn a lot about the mental part of the game with Bill. We are confident that Bill will have her ready to step on to Washington ready to play.

— Gabe Pinto