Lady Sharks infielder Samira Tanaka loves a good chase.<\/p>\n
So much so that it took ex-Lady Sharks coach Carlos Caro a year to convince the talented switch-hitter to commit to Miami Dade College.<\/p>\n
Caro first got a glimpse of Tanaka in 2009 when she was playing on a traveling team for two weeks in the United States. He was impressed with what he saw and kept in touch with her even after she went back to her hometown of Bastos, Brazil.<\/p>\n
Two years later, the 20-year old sophomore is putting up career highs at Miami Dade, batting .377 with eight doubles, 15 RBI, 27 runs and three stolen bases.<\/p>\n
She has already surpassed her RBI and doubles totals from last season.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast year she was a bit slow. This year she is much faster and stronger, while seeing the ball better at the plate,\u201d teammate Aline Uehara said.<\/p>\n
Tanaka used her freshman year at Miami Dade to get acclimated to collegiate softball and living away from home.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel relaxed and confident this season, my hitting has improved and I work on my technique every single day,\u201d said Tanaka.<\/p>\n
Current Lady Sharks coach Gina De Aguero isn\u2019t shy in offering the second baseman\/shortstop praise.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe is by far my most talented all-around player on the team,\u201d De Aguero said.<\/p>\n
Aside from her offense, Tanaka has helped shore up the Lady Sharks defense up the middle.<\/p>\n
\u201cI risk everything, I dive for ground balls and risk my body just to try and be the best defensive player I can be,\u201d Tanaka said.<\/p>\n
Currently Tanaka is in talks with two universities to continue her collegiate softball career: the University of Northwestern Oklahoma State and Minot State University in North Dakota.<\/p>\n
Tanaka said she has not made a decision yet, because she wants to remain focused on her final season at Miami Dade.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Lady Sharks infielder Samira Tanaka loves a good chase. So much so that it took ex-Lady Sharks coach Carlos Caro a year to convince the talented switch-hitter to commit to Miami Dade College. Caro first got a glimpse of Tanaka in 2009 when she was playing on a traveling team for two weeks in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":327,"featured_media":6028,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[14,2803],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-6027","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"category-softball"},"yoast_head":"\n