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Here’s our TLI for Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023:
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EXTRA ELITE SPOTLIGHT: CHARELLE AKI
UNLV-bound 1B Charelle Aki, #135 in the Class of 2023, recently talked to Extra Inning Softball about OC Batbusters-Lara, mental training, Alliance National, Fireworks Sparkler NIT Showcase, Corona Angels-Tyson, UNLV, Kinesiology, Kailee Sanchez, Maunalua, “All American: Homecoming” and cooking and baking.
EXTRA ELITE SPOTLIGHT Q&A
Name: Charelle Aki
Hometown: Las Vegas, NV
High School: Sierra Vista High
Club Team: OC Batbusters 18U-Lara
Graduation Year: 2023
Height: 5-foot-8
Position: 1B
Nickname: Rell
Twitter: @Charelleaki17
Honors: MVP Freshman and Junior Year; Honorable Mention 1st Team 5A; Top-5 Nominee for Female Athlete Of The Year for the Las Vegas Sun; #135 in the Class of 2023; and Fireworks Sparkler NIT Showcase Top-10 Leaderboard (#1 in home runs, #1 slugging percentage, #4 in RBIs and #9 in batting average).
Travel Ball Highlights/Fall Stats: Due to an injury she had limited playing time, but but she batted .360 AVG with 6 HRs.
High School Stats: .576 AVG, 53 hits, 10 HRs, 61 RBIs, 42 Runs, 15 doubles and 5 triples.
Tell us about your travel team/organization and how you became involved with them? I became part of the OC Batbusters in 2020 and played for Coach Rob Bennet’s OC Batbusters 18U team. At the end of the summer of 2021, my team folded and Coach (Clay) Lara took me in on his 16U team. In the fall of 2022, I was moved up to Coach Lara’s 18U team and will continue to play for him throughout the summer before heading to UNLV.
Do you have any suggestions for training methods or apps and why? The hardest training exercise is training your mind to forget about the last pitch or play that did not go your way, but with time, experience, hard work and failure during practice it will help make your mind get stronger. The game of softball is how you become successful after you fail.
Can you tell us about your experience at Alliance Nationals this past summer? This summer, we played in the Alliance Nationals in Indiana and it was pretty exciting because I had never been there. We played some great teams and had college coaches stop by to watch some of our games.
What was your favorite fall tournament/event and why? My favorite fall tournament was the Fireworks Sparkler NIT Showcase. This was my favorite tournament because as I had a rough summer I worked hard to get where I needed to be and this tournament I put my hard work to use.
Which player/team was your toughest opponent and why? The toughest opponent that I have played against was Corona Angels 18U-Tyson. They were the toughest team because as I was just a sophomore on a competitive 18U team I had to play against girls who were about to go to college. As I was playing against them, I got to experience the mental part of the game and how college was going to be.
Can you talk about your decision to commit to UNLV? I decided to commit to UNLV because I’d be close to home. As these next four years will be my last time playing softball, I wanted to be where my family could watch me achieve my dreams of being able to play Division 1 softball.
What areas are you interested in future occupations and why? My future occupation that I am interested in is Kinesiology. I want to go into Kinesiology because some of my family members are Physical Therapists. I also wanted to stay within the sports life.
Who is your sports hero and why? My sports hero is my cousin, Kailee Sanchez. I went to most of her games when I was a little girl and watching her play made me fall in love with the sport.
What’s the best hype song and why? I usually don’t like to get hyped before a game because I like to go into a game with a calm and clear mind. I mainly listen to Hawaiian music and before every game I listen to the song that I was named after. The song that I was named after is called “Sanoe” by Maunalua.
What’s your favorite TV show to binge and why? My favorite TV show to binge-watch is “All American: Homecoming” and “Grey’s Anatomy.” I like both of the “All Americans” because of the storyline it gives and the drama. I like “Grey’s Anatomy” because at first I wanted to become a surgeon and liked the drama.
Do you have a secret talent/skill? I can cook and bake.
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