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The New Year means an early start to college for one top-ranked player in her class, as 2023 Extra Elite 100 pitcher Aissa Silva has graduated early from high school and has been reclassified as a 2002 grad instead of a ’23.
That means, according to her mother, Erin, that she not only will play for the Arizona Wildcats, she starts practed with the Pac-12 team today.
“Surprise!” the athlete’s mom told Extra Inning Softball last night. “The story is crazy and all happened so fast but Aissa had to complete her senior in one semester to make it happen. this has always been her dream to play softball at the U of A and she made it happen early.
I couldn’t wait to be at the UOfA next year and with that I’m excited to announce that I have Graduated early and will be attending the UOfA this spring to play with my future teammates!! #beardown #arizonasoftball #UofA pic.twitter.com/0zBgn8uM3Y
— Aissa Silva lefty 2023 (@Aissa2023) January 4, 2023
Just two months ago—on Nov. 21, 2022—Aissa was announced as being tied for the #6 ranked player in the 2023 Extra Elite 100… here’s what her bio said:
T-6—Aissa Silva, P/1B, Arizona Thunderbolts – Walding (Arizona)
Aissa was born in raised in Arizona before moving to Sacramento, Calif. during her junior high years but recently moved back to Tucson for her senior year of high school. She’s now with Coach Chris Walding who she played for earlier in her career and is also “back home” where she grew up taking lessons from former Wildcat star pitchers Danielle O’Toole and Taylor McQuillen. Over the summer, playing for the So Cal Athletics – Richardson team, she dominated with 305 K’s in 157 innings pitched and produced a 1.42 ERA. In one notable outing at PGF Nationals, she won a 11-inning game 1-0 over a strong Lady Dukes team. During her time at Elk Grove (Calif.) High, Aissa was almost unhittable as she went 35-9 with a 0.56 ERA, this year, set the school record by recording 320 K’s—part of 552 in 310.2 innings in her Nor Cal experiences which she will now take to unfortunate hitters back in her home state.
And what does the athlete herself think of entering college early?
“I’m super pumped for the new challenges ahead of me with my new teammates. BEARDOWN!” she said Tuesday evening.
Last Summer, Aissa had a strong showing at PGF Nationals and it was during that time that she committed to the Wildcats… here’s our interview done with her after her tremendous start to the travel ball championship…
Video Interview: Outstanding 2023 Pitcher Aissa Silva Has a Great Week: Two 1-0 Shutouts & A Verbal to Arizona!
Originally published July 29, 2022 on Extra Inning Softball
Aissa Silva had an amazing pitching run over the last two days.
On Thursday, she pitched a 1-0 shutout against the powerful Lady Dukes – Lamar team and then came back Friday morning to go 10 innings in another 1-0 win, this one against a strong Caroline Elite team led by Tennessee-bound pitcher Karlyn Pickens, who herself was tremendous with 17 K’s and only four hits allowed.
Aissa, however, gave up only three hits and in ITB was tremendous, nailing a runner at third on one come-backer to the circle and also had runners on first and third with one out before striking out the side.
It was also a great week for the incoming senior as she committed to “my dream school,” the Univ. of Arizona!
In this video shot Friday morning after the team lost a tough contest to Lady Dukes (in which Aissa didn’t pitch), we interviewed her to ask about what has been a fun week for her on and off the field… click below to see what she had to say!
— Brentt Eads, Extra Inning Softball
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In September, Extra Inning Softball’s Carlos Arias did a spotlight on Aissa as part of The Last Inning series… here’s that write-up:
The Last Inning (Sept. 2, 2022): Spotlighting Arizona-Committed Lefty Aissa Silva, Club & Player Moves + Verbals
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Here’s our TLI for Friday, Sept. 2, 2022:
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EXTRA ELITE SPOTLIGHT: AISSA SILVA
Arizona-committed LHP Aissa Silva, #9 in the 2023 Extra Elite 100, recently talked to Extra Inning Softball about So Cal Athletics 18U-Richardson, school and training, PGF Nationals, the Lady Dukes, business, Steve Aoki, “Purple Hearts” and photography.
EXTRA ELITE SPOTLIGHT Q&A
Name: Aissa Silva
Hometown: Sierra Vista, AZ
High School: Mountain View High
Club Team: So Cal Athletics 18U-Richardson
Graduation Year: 2023
Height: 5-foot-6
Position: LHP
Nickname: Aissa
Twitter: @Aissa2023
Honors: Sac Bee Player of the Year; Cal-Hi Sports Northern Pitcher of the Year; and broke Elk Grove High record for most strikeouts in a season.
Travel Ball Highlights/Summer Stats: Placed in the top (7) at PGF 18U Premier Nationals.
Tell us about your travel team/organization and how you became involved with them? I’ve played with (Bruce) Richardson for about three years now and absolutely love it. Coach Bruce has helped me become the person I am today and has really helped me find my voice, not only on the mound, but off the mound too. Playing with these girls has been the best journey ever. We have definitely had our ups and downs, but I feel like we grew even stronger as we got through the downs and are all super close to each other. I came to this team with a coach I was with before — Bill Sparrey — I’ve been with Bill since my freshman year and could not ask for a better coach to grow with. He is definitely one of the biggest reasons I am as mentally and physically tough as I am today.
What areas are you focusing on/trying to improve this fall? I’m focusing on getting my school work done as best as I can and training every day to get better and stronger on the field.
Can you tell us about your experience at PGF Nationals this summer? We played in PGF. It was a great experience. It definitely started off a little rocky for us, but as soon as we got to bracket play, we played our hearts out and fought our way through, getting all the way to top (7) I believe. It was definitely the most games I’ve pitched in a long time, but I loved every moment of it. I honestly couldn’t have asked for a better summer.
Which player/team was your toughest opponent and why? I feel like every team is good competition where I play, but Lady Dukes was probably one of the hardest teams I saw all summer. They are a great all around team with girls that are going to great schools.
What areas are you interested in future occupations and why? I want to major in business and go into entrepreneuring from there. I want to learn more of the boss roll and hopefully be able to make my own business one day.
Who is your sports hero and why? Honestly, don’t have one. I love watching everyone and taking in information from it all but I have never been stuck to someone as a hero. I really try to make something of my own and just learn from everything I can. But there isn’t really one person that I have stuck with.
What’s the best hype song and why? My hype song right now would have to be “Pursuit of Happiness” by Steve Aoki remix because it just gives me really good vibes and I can just dance and sing my heart out to it.
What’s your favorite TV show to binge and why? I actually can’t stay focused on one show at a time, so I have a good five shows I watch at once. I’m more of a movie person, but my favorite movie right now would have to be “Purple Hearts.”
Do you have a secret talent/skill? I like to do photography.