Campbell’s Alo is in a league of her own

Check this out for a pitcher/catcher combo — Campbell softball power hitter Jocelyn Alo behind the plate for Sabers baseball gunslinger Markus Ramos.

No, not a fantasy. It actually happened in youth baseball when they were 14 and Alo was still playing against the boys.

“We were playing for a Makakilo/Ewa Beach team called the Islanders,” Alo — the reigning All-State softball player of the year — recalled during a practice Friday.

That was before Alo moved to Ewa and transferred to Campbell from Kahuku, where she hit 15 home runs as a sophomore.

“My dad (Levi) used to drive me to all the practices, and before that, he drove me to practices for a Mililani team I played for,” Alo said. “It was a coincidence that I could go to Campbell and they have such a good softball team.”

In her two years of high school there, Alo made Kahuku proud, too. Aside from cranking away at the plate, she wrestled. Well, she didn’t just wrestle, she placed third at states as a freshman before winning a state championship at 184 pounds as a sophomore.

“My dad wrestled and he always knew he was going to have his kids wrestle. He never got a state championship, so I promised him one and got him one.”

Although she can remember every part of that state-title match and she misses the sport, she doesn’t have plans to go back to it.

“That’s not where my future is,” she said. “I did it. I won. I’m good with that.”

Softball is where it’s at for the senior. Alo, pitcher Dani Cervantes, infielder Cieana Curran and others will try to bring the Sabers a third straight state championship this spring.

Alo also signed to play for Oklahoma in college and she has one more summer to play for the OC Batbusters, a tournament team in California.

Her deep connection to the rest of the Campbell softball team’s senior class was evident toward the end of Friday’s interview.

“It’s our last season together and I wouldn’t want to go through it with anyone else,” she said as tears flowed. “Why am I crying? It’s our senior season and I’m super excited. It’s going to go by so fast, though.”

Alo doesn’t know what she’ll concentrate on in college, but she does have lofty personal goals set for this year and beyond.

“We want to win states and OIAs and I want to beat my own previous personal bests in things like doubles and home runs,” she said. “I want to throw out every runner and for us to execute things when they need to be executed. I want to graduate college, win a national championship, pay my parents back, pay their house off, make sure my sisters and whole family are taken care of, play pros (National Pro Fastpitch) and hopefully play for Team USA.

“I tried out for the junior national team and didn’t make it, but I’m like on their radar and stuff, so hopefully for the future that will be an option.”

Campbell coach Mike “Shag” Hermosura knows that Alo and her big bat and vast softball experience make a big difference.

“The girls realize that we’re lucky to have her,” he said. “I feel we’re blessed to have her with all her experience and leadership. She’ll always be a leader. She doesn’t accept failure. If failure comes, she’ll make adjustments and work at it. She’s very mature, maybe even a little too mature for her age. She handles responsibility well. She’s always there for the other athletes, picking them up if they fall. She has a good family life, is a great student and a role model in school and on the field, too.”

Another coach named Mike — Mike Stith of the Batbusters — has had a big influence on Alo’s hitting talent.

“He’s one of the best hitting coaches in the nation,” Alo said. “I’ve learned a lot of my stuff from him and practice what he preaches because it works. He’s coached some of the best hitters in the game.”

Rebounding to win states after losing to Kapolei in the OIA semifinals is Alo’s best softball memory so far.

“When we lost OIAs, it was pretty tough on us and some of us cried after the game because it was the first time we had lost in forever,” she said. “We all just buckled down and worked super hard, knowing that we wanted states. And winning it made it that much more enjoyable because we (had been) the team to beat and became the underdogs. Winning states with that team was great. I can’t even describe it.”

Jocelyn’s favorites

>> Foods: Poke bowls, pizza, Hawaiian, Filipino, Mexican

>>Hangout: Batting cages at Barbers Point

>> Music: Country, Hawaiian

>>Bands: Ewa Beach EQ, A$AP Ferg, Brett Eldredge, Luke Bryan, Kelsea Ballerini

>> Movies: “The Sandlot,” “The Benchwarmers,” “The Notebook”

>> TV shows: “The Vampire Diaries,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” OC 16 sports, “Girl Meets World,” “Good Luck Charlie,” “Adventure Time”

>> Lyrics from an “Adventure Time” song: “Bacon pancakes, makin’ bacon pancakes, take the bacon and put it in the pancakes”