Souhlaris ties UM steals mark

As a star high school athlete in New Hampshire Alexis Souhlaris ended her career with a ton of awards, from all-state field hockey recognition to state and school track and field records to state softball Player of the Year awards.

Still, the University of Maine freshman never imagined she’d have her name in the record books so soon at the college level.

Souhlaris, the center fielder for the Black Bear softball team, has tied the school record for most stolen bases in a season (23), which was twice set by Jackman native Jess Brady (2003 and 2005). Brady, who also played center field, holds the career record (73).

With 10 regular-season games left on Maine’s schedule, Souhlaris is sure to break the record and then some. She also leads America East in stolen bases and was ranked 16th in Division I with 0.64 steals per game.

“It came up on me pretty quickly,” said Souhlaris, a Derry, N.H., native and a graduate of Pinkerton Academy in Derry. “My dad told me about it when I was about halfway there down in Florida. He said, yeah, school record. I was like, Oh, that’s cool. But I don’t really look at [records] and try to break them. I’m trying to produce.”

Making the shift from high school to college has been a challenge, Souhlaris said, as she’s running against more experienced, powerful and accurate catchers.

“There’s definitely more pressure in college,” she said. “You’re going to expect the catchers to have better arms in college and you have to make sure you get your timing down. There’s more pressure to be on time and get there quicker.”

Souhlaris did the majority of her running during the Bears’ spring break southern swing. She came back from the trip with 19 stolen bases but she acknowledged her pace has slowed since Maine began America East conference play.

“Part of it is that [opposing teams] are looking at our roster and checking us out and seeing, yeah, I have 23 stolen bases,” she said. “They’re gonna play me a little more tightly.”

Souhlaris could pick up again once she gets to know the styles of the conference’s catchers.

“It’s the first time I’ve played against any of them, being a freshman,” she said. “It helps if I know the catcher has a tendency to throw high or has full release. Then I might feel more confident and I might run more.”

Souhlaris isn’t merely running the bases well. She’s also batting .353, which is second-highest on the team, with 41 hits and 17 RBIs.

Pinkerton softball coach Terry Bailey, a Skowhegan native, didn’t keep track of stolen base statistics. He did, however, track her stellar offensive and defensive numbers.

The 2006 Gatorade state Player of the Year, Souhlaris batted .379 with four home runs and 10 RBIs, and had an on-base percentage of .461 as the Astros’ leadoff hitter. As a pitcher, she had a 0.65 earned run average with 227 strikeouts in 20 games.

Souhlaris has a claim to fame in New Hampshire aside from her athletic achievements.

After a loss in the high school playoffs last year, Souhlaris, who was a star at the time, sent a note to the winning pitcher, an underclassman, congratulating her and offering her some tips.

The Union-Leader newspaper in nearby Manchester wrote a story about Souhlaris’ gesture.

“It’s funny, it’ll be brought up every now and then,” she said. “Basically people say it was a nice thing I did. But it was weird because it wasn’t supposed to get out and the next thing I know, I have a Union-Leader [reporter] asking me questions. It was crazy.”