Player Update: Arizona High School Freshman Alexa Wilde Finishes Season Strong After Battling Multiple Physical Ailments

Last month, we told you the story of Alexa Wilde, the talented freshman utility player at Pinnacle High in Phoenix, Arizona, who had battled over the last year what seemed to be a biblical-like level of physical plagues: hives, welts, mono, concern she had West Nile Virus (results were negative), joint pain and swelling, arthritis, and, ultimately, COVID.

When Alexa shared her thoughts with us in April, she had a great statement that we all can learn from about her tough series of ailments:

“It made me also realize,” she reflected, “that most great athletes have faced adversity. Maybe that is what made them great. You need to know you will overcome it and you will be stronger and better because of it.”

We’re happy to report that Alexa finished the season healthy and productive as she batted .333 to help Pinnacle High to a 24-9 record, a Region championship, and a quarterfinals finish in state. With all health issues behind her–knock on wood–the athlete is excited about her softball future.

“I am really looking forward to next year,” the pitcher, infielder and outfielder told Extra Inning Softball this week. “We have a good core group returning and good young talent coming in. Our goal remains the same, to win a state championship. We graduated our senior pitcher, Reis Beurline, who is a Mississippi State signee and I am excited to pick up where she left off.”

“I have high expectations for myself pitching-wise and am feeling great overall. I’m also very excited about this upcoming summer!”

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Inside Pitch: Arizona 2025 Standout Pitcher/Outfielder Alexa Wilde Perseveres Through a Very Rough Patch!

Originally posted April 4, 2022

Alexa Wilde, the freshman pitcher who made last year’s 2025 Extra Elite 100, hasn’t exactly had the smoothest year possible… in fact, she had to sit out several months of doing anything when even doing rudimentary things, like tying her shoes, was next to impossible.

Ranked #56 in the list published last year (note: the updated 2025 rankings are scheduled to launch May 15), Alexa has impressed where her versatility as a pitcher, centerfielder and second baseman, but all that was put on hold when she fell ill.

The standout is back on the fields now, thank goodness, but it was pretty scary for a while and in this first-person account, she details her journey.

“I would like to write about my story because I do think the most important thing that people should know is that you are more resilient than you think you are and that adversity is only temporary, it will get better.”

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In August of 2021, I decided to play up with Todd Judge’s Oro Valley Suncats 16U team (OVSC).

Even though I would be the youngest on the team (Class of 2025), I wanted the challenge of going against better competition and I liked the way he ran his practices.  I would get the opportunity to practice/inner-squad with his 18U team which has some of the best players in Arizona.

Coach Judge OVSC team is based out of Tucson, Arizona and it takes us about an hour and 40 minutes to get there.  Around the same time, I was also starting school as a Freshman at Pinnacle High School in Phoenix, where I’ve lived my entire life.

Looking back on my falling ill, I was tired, taking naps every single day—sometimes twice a day—but I thought it was due to starting school and the travel schedule.  I was sore from a muscular and joint perspective, but I thought that was due to playing hard and just getting banged up.

I remember going over a fence to catch a ball and landing hard, so I expected to be sore… and I was.  I didn’t know the real reason for the symptoms I was having, so I kept playing. Our Fall was very successful from both an individual and club team perspective, I was in the pitching rotation and playing in the field.

In October, we were coming home from the Ronald McDonald tournament in Houston and I broke out in a horrible case of hives.  I had welts everywhere and had never experienced them before.  We went to the doctor the next day and they decided to test for Mono and West Nile Virus.

I remember my mom and I thinking there was no way I had Mono.  I had been playing well and I didn’t think that was possible. I found out I was diagnosed with Mono and positive for Epstein Barr Virus (EBV) antibodies. I had been playing with Mono for over two months and did not realize it.

The majority of people do test positive for EBV antibodies, but they don’t ever have flare ups or symptoms with it. I went on a steroid and started to feel a bit better while on it, we all thought I was nearing the end of it.

Little did I know, this was just the beginning.

I was one of the rare cases associated with Epstein Barr Virus that resulted in severe joint pain and viral arthritis.  It hurt to move, it hurt to change position on the couch or in a chair and I couldn’t get up the stairs without help. I had joint swelling and had to have them drained, and at times it was hard to walk.

At school I had to write with a brace on my wrist.  My friend had to tie my shoes every day on the way into school because I couldn’t.

There was no choice, I had to take a softball break from October through January as there was no way I could play.  It was the beginning of January and I started to try to grip and swing a bat.  I tried to ride a bike.  These things sound so simple, but I couldn’t even think of doing them before.

I remember going to practice and shagging in the outfield—I would walk to a ball, pick it up with my left hand because my right couldn’t grip the ball and drop it in the bucket. This was considered progress for me.

But, that wasn’t going to be for a while longer for another reason: in mid-late January, I was improving but then contracted COVID!

Fortunately, since mid-February I have made a full recovery.  I always considered myself a very mentally strong person—it is probably my best attribute—but going through this was so hard.

It made me also realize that most great athletes have faced adversity, maybe that is what made them great. You need to know you will overcome it and you will be stronger and better because of it.

Having my friends, teammates, coaches and family be there for me during this time was a major factor in being able to get through that period of time in my life. Checking in with someone and asking how they are, and just listening means a lot.

I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I struggled to keep a positive mindset; I had tears, hardly anyone saw them, but I had them.

This was the hardest challenge I have ever had to face, but it made me even a stronger person mentally. I felt like I was pretty strong to start with, but the motivation to want to be back on the field and give everything I have is what kept me going and probably plays an even bigger factor now.

I think what I am most proud of and what I would want others to know is that you are more resilient than you think you are. You are tougher than you think you are, and when things seem like they are at their worst, you will get through it and you will be better because of it.

I am looking forward to this summer with my Oro Valley Suncats team with so much excitement. First, though, my high school team, which is currently ranked No. 6 in Class 6A power points, has a No. 1 goal and that is to win a state championship!

— Alexa Wilde, Class of 2025