When Ari Williams joined the Cal Lite travel softball team at age 15, she split time as a pitcher and an outfielder. After sizing up the teenager's raw skills, coach Pam Newton made Williams a full-time center fielder.

 

Paul Williams recalled Newton telling him, "Your daughter can pitch but not at a high level. Why would I put a circle around her when I could put her in a position where she could use all of her gifts?"

 

Williams' impressive natural talent was also obvious to Kelly Ford, Cal State Fullerton's softball head coach. She recalled watching Williams perform at a Titan softball camp before offering her a scholarship. "She wasn't the best player out there, but she was the best athlete. I thought, 'Once this kid gets it, she is going to take off,' " said Ford.

 

Williams, a senior center fielder, has proven the two coaches' instincts were spot on. This week, she was named the Big West Conference Player of the Year. The 22-year-old is having a monster season, batting .380 overall and .418 in conference play and leading her team in batting average, hits (62), triples (7), RBIs (40), on-base percentage (.455) and slugging percentage (.620).

 

She has stolen a team-high 21 bases, raising her school-record total to 92. And she has 80 putouts, five assists and hasn't made an error. Williams, who has hit a half-dozen home runs, became the sixth Titan to win four Big West championships a week ago after her team clinched the title.

 

A five-tool player who can hit for average and power and has elite base-running, fielding and throwing abilities, Williams will lead the No. 3 seed Titans (38-16, 18-3 in conference) against No. 2 seed Missouri (32-23) on Friday at the three-day NCAA softball regionals being held at UCLA. First pitch is at 5:30 p.m. The No. 1 seed Bruins (46-5), who are seeded second nationally, face No. 4 seed Weber State (26-19) in the second Friday game, scheduled for 8 p.m. 

Williams acknowledges a sense of unfinished business – the team has played in three straight regionals at UCLA without advancing – but the right-handed hitter said the Titans' chief aim is "to stay within ourselves and stick to our game plan. We have a motto: 'One pitch at a time.' 

"I don't want to see us wrapped up in the past. We'll look forward and stay focused on what we are trying to accomplish. We need to remember that we are in control of things we can control, we've been playing this game for a long time and we'll be able to play it well this weekend," said Williams, who was named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association's All-West Region's third team.

 

Athletics is just part of Williams' profile. She was named Fullerton's 2018-19 Big West Leader of the Year based on her achievements on and off the field. She has a 3.73 overall grade point average, was named to the Big West Spring All-Academic Team the past two years and will graduate this week with a business degree with an emphasis in human resources.

 

"School comes first, and I always push myself to be the best I can in class," she said. "On those hard days when it's tough to get through the classes and study for tests, I remind myself that a lot of people don't get this opportunity to go to a university and get their schooling paid for."

 

Ford said no one is more deserving of the Big West's top award. "Ari is simply exceptional," she said. "What I'm so impressed with is that in her four years here, her drive and dedication to get better every day has not wavered. Of course, that's great for her, but it rubs off on her teammates too. They see her and get after it."

 

"Another of her gifts is that she is truly one of the most pleasant people to be around. She stops to have a conversation and is a great listener. Each and every one of her teammates truly feels like they have a relationship with her," said Ford, who was named the conference's Coach of the Year for the fourth consecutive season.

 

The coach also praised Williams' altruistic nature. "In January, I wanted to give Ari some extra stipend funds. She told me one of her teammates' family was going through a hardship and asked if the money could be diverted to her fellow player. That's just the type of person she is.

"It's like having another coach on our staff with Ari. She has a keen sense of knowing when to reach out to a teammate. I don't have to deal with day-to-day petty stuff that some teams do because she puts out a lot of fires before I know there is a fire."

 

Williams, who hails from Moreno Valley, said she was humbled by being named the Big West's top performer. "I have no words, honestly. I'm just grateful. I just want to thank God for this whole journey and something as big as that award.

 

"Going into a season, it's never my goal to make the all-conference team and get all these awards. It's about trusting the process, putting in the work day in and day out and just going out on the field and trying to get it done for my team. If the awards happen, they happen. I'm grateful for them, but it's never been about them," said Williams, who has a .335 career batting average at Fullerton.

 

This season, she is perhaps most proud of her stolen base and RBI statistics. "It's cool to have a record at any school. The stolen-base record is super-awesome," said Williams. "My goal was to have more RBIs than I did last year, when I missed a lot of chances. That was a conversation that Coach Ford and I had at the end of last year. So that's something that I'm really happy about."

 

Irieanna Siofele, who flanks Williams in left field, calls her teammate a genuine team leader. "People want to follow her, and that is a big part of the team's success. She leads by example and is not a vocal leader.

 

"Ari is the first person to practice and the last to leave. And she's always there for her teammates," said Siofele, who is a junior from Garden Grove.

One of the main reasons Williams chose to attend Fullerton was to help develop the program. "I wanted to be part of a team that was building a program instead of going to a program that was already big. The girls before helped build it for me. I'm hoping to do the same for the girls that come after me."

 

"Coming in as a freshman, I didn't have all these tools. There were girls older than me that had those tools. I'm really thankful for our former players and our coaches for pushing me to be the player I am today.

 

"Coach Ford is amazing. She cares more about us as people than players. Obviously, she cares about winning and wants us to be our best as players. There have been a lot of times she has been there for me when I needed it. And I'll always be grateful for that."

 

Titan center fielder Ari Williams has a 3.73 overall grade point average and will graduate with a business degree with an emphasis in human resources.

 

The 5-foot-10 student-athlete was offered a chance to redshirt as a freshman because that Titan lineup was dominated by highly skilled juniors and seniors. But Williams said she adamantly ruled out redshirting, saying that she wanted to help her team in any way possible.

 

"Coach Ford told me that if I wasn't starting, I would be a pinch-runner. I told myself, 'OK, I'll steal the most bases on the team. I'll be the fastest runner. I'll score us runs.' That was my mindset.

 

"I wasn't as confident as I wanted to be my freshman year. If I had sat out, my confidence may have dropped a little more," said Williams, who continued to work out every day waiting for a chance to get in the batter's box. She had five starts while making 58 appearances that year, primarily serving as a pinch-runner. She hit .370, led the team in steals with 22 and was third in runs scored with 27.

 

She had a breakthrough year as a sophomore, appearing in all 58 games, starting 39 contests and earning All-Big West Second Team honors. She took over the starting center field job in March and finished second on the Titans in hitting (.319) and runs scored (33).

 

Williams had a memorable day that season, hitting her first home run as a Titan and then a second one in a game at the University of San Diego. She had been at USD for a game the year before when she made the final decision not to redshirt. "To go back there and hit two home runs on that field was like everything coming full circle. It was a really big moment for me, knowing that I had made the right decision not to redshirt."

 

She earned All-Big West First Team honors as a junior. Williams started all 60 games in center field, batting .297 with 16 multi-hit games and finishing second on the team in runs scored (35). "I was trying to build on the experience of getting to start as a sophomore," she said.

 

Everything seemed to click her for Williams this year. She credits her religion for allowing her to play in a relaxed manner. "A big thing for me was my mindset. I'm Christian, and I use that a lot in my game. Just trusting in God and his plan for me is something I've done more this year. It helps me play more freely knowing that my teammates have my back, everything is fine and that I'm accepted by God no matter what happens."

 

Williams got her first taste of softball as a 5-year-old. At age 6, she was on a recreational team and blasting Whiffle balls back at her coach who was tossing pitches. She joined her first travel team, Strike Force, at age 13.

 

At Canyon Springs High Schools in Moreno Valley, she played for head coach Janine Monahan. A four-year performer, she hit well over .300 and was a First Team All-League selection. She also was named to the All-Scholar Team three times.

 

"Ariana has always been very driven from a young age," said her father, who was a gymnast and pole vaulter in high school. "If she was in a spelling bee or had a spelling test, she had to win it or get 100%. I think she got one "B" in school. She just had an inner drive, which I think she got from her mother. And that just carried into sports.

 

"She was very analytical and very focused. Her older sister, Kendra, played catcher in high school and community college. Ariana would walk up to the backstop as an 8-year-old and watch the pitcher throw. She just wanted to understand things."

 

Paul is a retired Los Angeles city firefighter and his wife, Pamela, worked in banking before becoming a stay-at-home mom. They have attended all of their daughter's home games this year. Her sister Kendra, who is a cosmetologist and works at a church, attends games when she has free time.

"Ariana is an amazing young lady and we're very proud of her," said Paul. "I'm as big a fan as anyone."

 

Williams would eventually like to work in the area of human resources. "I've always been into the people aspect of business. People are essential to any business."

 

But she isn't quite ready to give up softball. In July, Williams will travel to Denmark to serve as a player-coach with GSK Gladsaxe, a softball club in the Copenhagen suburb of Soborg. She'll spend three months playing on the club's premier team and coaching the organization's 17-and-under squad.

 

"I visited baseballoverseas.com and talked on the phone with the website's head softball recruiter," said Williams. "I spent a couple weeks finding the right fit and did an interview on Skype. I never thought I would consider coaching, but when I return to the States I might explore that."

 

Ford, her Titan coach, said Gladsaxe doesn't know what it's getting in Williams. "Ari is an absolute physical specimen. I think she has probably only scratched about 75% of her capabilities on our softball team. She is going to be great as a pro player."

 

One of Williams' main interests is travel. "I loved taking the Hawaii trips with the team. Can you blame me? Last year was the best. My parents got to go on that trip, and we swept the series. I went to Israel with my former teammate Gabby Rodas last June. That was the kickstart of what made me want to travel after college," she said.

 

Her father said Ari gave the appearance of a seasoned traveler when they would take cruises during her childhood. "She took quite a few trips as a kid. She would walk down the center of the cruise ship, wearing a floppy straw hat, looking like she was a world traveler."

 

Williams also enjoys spending time with her friends and has fun impressing her people with her juggling skills. She's excited to be moving back home this month and spending more time with her family and her cat, Mookie.

 

Her favorite book is the Bible. "It's definitely the most important book in my life. It guides the morals of my life." She's also listens to Beatles music. "My mother is a huge Beatles fan, and I grew up listening to them as a kid. I know the words of many songs. My favorite song is "I'm Only Sleeping," probably because I love to sleep."

 

At Canyon Springs High, she wore number 3. But Samantha Vandiver was wearing that number when Williams arrived at Fullerton, so she opted for 34. "I thought, 'I'll have a fresh start. Let's make this a big number at Fullerton," she said.

 

Mission accomplished.

 

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