| Taylor Smith | |
|---|---|
| Washington Huskies – No. 6 | |
| Outfield | |
| Born: Olympia, Washington | |
| Bats: Right | Throws: Right |
| Teams | |
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Taylor 'Rustipher' Smith (born in Olympia, Washington) is a junior outfielder on the University of Washington's Division I softball team. She was a member of the team that won the NCAA 2009 softball national championship in Oklahoma City.
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Taylor is the daughter of Kurt and Kyle Smith. She has one sister, Taryn, who attends Central Washington University. Smith carried a 3.95 cumulative GPA at Timberline High School. Her father played football at Oregon State and Portland State. Taylor is majoring in medical anthropology and global health, but she aspires to be a wedding planner. Smith played club ball with her current Husky teammate, Kimi Pohlman.
Smith was a four-year letterwinner at Timberline High School in Olympia, Washington. She was a First-Team All-State selection, and she led Timberline to the league and district championships and a second-place finish at State all in her senior year. She was also named team MVP and won the Coaches Award her senior year. In her junior year, she was named Western Cascade Conference (WCC) Co-MVP. Taylor was named to the First-Team WCC her last three years, and was named to the Second-Team WCC her freshman year. She was a two-time All-Area pick by The Olympian and was awarded the Athletic Award of Excellence by The Olympian her junior year. Smith played club ball for the Washington Ladyhawks Gold. She was named to the NFPSA Summer Nationals All-World Team in 2005 and was named the tournament MVP. She helped her previous club team, the Olympia Panthers, to the 2004 Washington state championship. She lettered four years in volleyball in high school, while earning honorable mention all-league as a senior. Smith won the Timberline High School Distinguished Scholar Award in 2006 and 2007.
Smith hit two home runs her freshman season coming off the bench both in pinch-hitting roles. She hit a home run in her first collegiate at bat in the first weekend of the season coming off the bench in the top of the seventh to hit her first home run in the 4-0 win over Utah (2/8). Taylor smacked a two-run pinch-hit home run in a 9-2 upset over New Mexico (3/22). Smith collected a hit in her only at bat and scored a career-high two runs in a 14-3 win over the Lobos (3/21). She collected a .238 batting average on the year with four runs and five RBI. She appeared in 21 games, only making two starts. Smith has a pinch-hit two-run single in a 14-1 over Long Beach State (2/15). Taylor collected a single in a 3-0 victory over UC Santa Barbara (2/13). She started her first collegiate game versus Oregon State (4/18). Smith also started in Washington's 3-0 win over UCLA (4/29).
Smith started in 24 of 35 appearances. She collected a .270 batting average with 20 hits, eight home runs, one double, and one triple. Taylor scored 12 runs and walked six times. She was ranked fifth on the team in RBI with 15. Smith batted .350 in Pac-10 games, collecting six multi-RBI games and two-multi run games. She hit a double against Oklahoma (5/28) and a triple against Arizona (6/5). Smith earned several career-highs in the Huskies 8-0 win over Utah (3/20) going 3-for-3, collecting five RBI, and two, two-run home runs. Taylor became the first player in Washington history to hit two grand slams in one game and tied the school-record of eight RBI in a single game against Purdue (3/21). Smith was named an Academic All-Pac-10 Honorable Mention. She was named Pac-10 Player of the Week the week of 3/22. Taylor was named Most Improved Husky, Allison Mick Most Inspirational Player, and received the Coaches Award.