Elyria’s Tess Sito wasted no time making her mark in college softball.

Sito hit four home runs and had 10 RBIs in five games over the weekend for Cleveland State, earning her the Horizon League Batter of the Week, in just her first week of playing collegiate softball after a stellar high school career.

"I’m really excited," Sito said. "It wasn’t too much different, just a little faster. Batting-wise I felt really good, once I got my first hit."

Sito went 10-for-18 with two doubles, four home runs, six runs scored and 10 RBIs, while also boasting a 1.333 slugging percentage and a .600 on-base percentage. She also stole three bases.

"I didn’t expect to do so well," Sito said. "Offensively, I just clicked in pretty good. Once you get your first hit, it really gives you a lot more confidence when you step up there.

"I was just really happy with my offense, but defensively, I really want to prove a lot."

Sito also picked up her first pitching win in her first collegiate start, an 11-6 win over Weber State. She allowed four runs on seven hits in five innings.

"My pitching wasn’t the greatest, but there’s always room for improvement," Sito said. "I’m always ready to learn more. Defensively I wasn’t very sound. I had a lot of fumbles at shortstop, but hopefully I’ll do a lot of practicing and I’ll get better at that."

CSU head coach Angie Nicholson, who is also from Elyria, was more than impressed.

"Tess had a phenomenal week at the plate," Nicholson said through a press release. "She was totally zoned in and made the most of her times at the plate. All four of her home runs were blasts that easily cleared the fence.

"She came into the season with a lot of pressure on her because of her past accomplishments on the field but you would have never known it. She was calm and cool and played like a junior or senior. I look forward to seeing what else she can do during her Viking career."

In just her second game as a Viking, Sito went 3-for-3 with two runs scored, four RBI and a pair of home runs to lead CSU over Weber State.

She saved her best game of the weekend for last. In a 12-8 loss to No. 22 Tennessee, Sito went 4-for-5 with three runs scored, a double, two home runs and five RBIs. She also had a solo home run in the first, an RBI double in the second, a lead-off home run in the sixth and a two-run single in the seventh.

Sito is glad to get off to such a good start and is mostly glad that the nerves are gone.

"Even when we were still in Cleveland and we hadn’t even left yet, I was really nervous," Sito said. "I wasn’t sure if I was even going to play and how I was going to do. Once I stepped on the field the first game, a lot of it went away. It was real exciting, but still nervous at the same time."

For her high school career at Elyria, Sito went 75-9 on the mound with 814 strikeouts in 531 innings pitched. Her senior year, she helped lead the Pioneers to a state championship. At the plate, she batted .470 with 107 RBIs and 143 runs scored. She also stole 46 bases in 48 attempts.

swalker@MorningJournal.com