North Jersey Female Athlete of the Week likes solving problems
Curiosity turned Kayla Porter into a pitcher.
Hard work turned the Bergenfield junior into one of North Jersey’s best.
When Porter was growing up in her hometown of Bergenfield, also where her parents are from, the town didn’t offer softball for girls. So Porter played baseball.
“I liked baseball, my dad is a huge Yankee fan and I wanted to be like Derek Jeter, but then they put me in softball that was the end of that,” Porter said, laughing.
When the town offered a softball program, Porter saw girls off to the side pitching. She was intrigued, but timid.
“I saw some of the other girls pitching and I said ‘wow, that looks really cool,’ and I was like, ‘Am I allowed to do that?’” she remembered. “And they were like ‘sure, go for it.’”
Hundreds of pitching lessons and hours of practice later, Porter led the Bears to an upset win over Bergen County power Indian Hills and a spot in the North Jersey Top 25 rankings.
The 5-foot-8 right-hander is the Bears pitcher and bats third in the line-up. After considering going to a non-public school, Bears coach Nick Pamploni told her how much the program needed her.
"I have to give a really big thank you to my coaches and teammates for always having my back and picking me up when I'm down," Porter said. "I love them all so much. I am excited for what the rest of the season brings."
Porter has been the Bears starter since her freshman year. That year, the Bears won their first state tournament game since 2004 and went 20-9. Last year, the Bears were considered a team on the rise but had an uneven season and finished 14-12.
“This year, our defense and our energy have been fantastic,” Porter said. “Deja [Suero] has been fantastic just eating up everything at shortstop and Lucie [Ortiz] has made so much progress as a hitter. Everyone is playing a part and it’s reassuring on the mound knowing if I mess up and if they hit it, it’s OK, I know the play will be made.”
Porter has been clocked in the upper 50s but prefers moving the ball around on batters. She said right now her screwball has been on point.
“The screwball is so annoying and weird because the snap [of the wrist] is weird,” Porter said. “We’ve been throwing a lot inside this year and I don’t really know if I am snapping it the right way, but it’s working and I am very happy about that.”
Porter said she doesn’t have major college aspirations about playing softball. She prefers a balance to her athletics and academics. Just recently, she’s become fascinated − one might say curious − about biology, specifically oncology.
“I took AP bio this year and we talked about cancer and it was really interesting, I can’t wrap my mind around it, how your body can be totally fine and then there’s a big problem,” Porter said. “I would like to go to college, get my degree and have softball along the way.”
Kayla Porter
Sport: Softball
School: Bergenfield
Class: Junior. Age: 17
Accomplishment: Porter led the Bears to four wins, pitching 20 innings and allowing only 11 hits, while going 5-10 at the plate with five RBIs and a homer.
Also nominated: Jayla Vasquez of Leonia, Sumaya Ali of Wayne Valley, Kaitlyn O’Brien of Ridgefield, Alana Chetaitis of Ramsey, and Nina Danyluk of Glen Rock for softball; Julia Tozduman of Lyndhurst and Kara Langbaum of Wayne Hills for track and field; and Abby Henderson of Northern Highlands for lacrosse.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Bergen Record Female Athlete of the Week: Kayla Porter, Bergenfield
