Portage High School senior Jena Alaniz will reunite with her sister next season as they join forces to play college softball at Taylor University. Alaniz and her sister Sabrina previously played together at PHS. The decision to become a Taylor Trojan was not a difficult one.
“It’s a small campus and that’s always what I’ve wanted,” Alaniz said. “It’s actually smaller than Portage High School. The softball program is really good, so I liked it a lot when I first visited my sister there. It was an easy pick.”
The Trojans, who play in the Crossroads League, are coached by Brad Bowser. Alaniz said that off the field, she argues with her sister Sabrina like most siblings do. However, when she crosses the white lines, she loves having her sister by her side.
“I think I’ll love it because I love playing with my sister,” Alaniz said. “We’re two different people when we step onto the softball field.”
Alaniz, like many of Portage teammates, credits head coach Lisa Hayes with her success. Hayes coached Alaniz on the junior varsity team her freshmen year before the two reunited last season when Hayes took over as varsity head coach.
“She’s a really intense person and she helps you pump up and do whatever you need to,” Alaniz said. “She’ll push you through everything. Once she came to varsity it was a big change and I loved it a lot. I love having her as a coach.”
The Portage standout hopes to eventually return to high school softball as a coach after she graduates from Taylor. She said her favorite memory from the first three years of her high school career was playing with her sister. However, she hopes that the Indians will create some memories that involve hoisting a trophy this season.
“I’m really hoping we get out of sectionals and even regionals because we have the same team we had last year,” Alaniz said. “We came really close and we have a really good chance this year.”
She lists her mother, Hayes and assistant coach Jay Hodges as three people who have influenced her softball career.
Alaniz is ready for the transition from high school to collegiate softball.
“It’ll be a big adjustment because everything is different,” she said. “The agility of the game is different; you have to have a lot more attentiveness, so it will be a big step up.”