‘She can’t stand to lose.’ From high school pitching star at Tigard to NCAA Division III national wins leader at George Fox, Ashley Davis keeps finding ways to get better

By Dan Brood 

It’s a simple formula. 

But it’s one that’s worked well — extremely well — for Ashley Davis.

Work hard.

Stay focused.

Keep improving — really improving — year by year, each and every year.

Enjoy many, many victories and have many accolades come your way.

It worked for Davis when she pitched for the Tigard High School softball team.

And it has worked for Davis, a 2018 Tigard graduate, after she moved on to pitch for George Fox University in Newberg.

“That’s always a goal,” Davis said of her constant improvement. “I just work hard and focus on the little things.” 

At Tigard, Davis went from being just a part-time varsity player as a freshman to being named the Class 6A Pitcher of the Year when she was a senior.

At George Fox, Davis went from being a freshman who was one of four pitchers to start for the Bruins, while she tried to adjust to college softball, to, as a junior, being named the Northwest Conference Pitcher of the Year.

This season, Davis’ senior year at George Fox, she’s taking things even a step higher, as Davis, in regular-season play, was the NCAA Division III leader — for the entire country — in pitching victories.

“It’s absolutely crazy. I love it,” she said of that achievement. “It’s super fun, and I couldn’t do it without my teammates.”

Helpful teammates and, now, two hometowns — both cheering on the pitcher with the friendly smile.

“My freshman year, I needed to have a little more independence. But I see my family a lot now,” Davis said of living in Newberg. “I wasn’t planning on living just 20 minutes away, but it’s fun to have my parents here at almost every game. The support has been a real blessing. It feels now like I have two places to call home, and that’s a great feeling.”

Both of those places that Davis calls home, Tigard and Newberg, have a talented, hard-working pitcher they can proudly call their own.

Terrific at Tigard

As a junior at Tigard, Davis was named the Three Rivers League Pitcher of the Year, as she helped lead the Tigers to a 19-7-1 record and a berth in the Class 6A state playoffs. Davis also was a Class 6A honorable mention all-state pick that season. 

As impressive as that was, it paled to what Davis accomplished in her senior year at Tigard.

In the 2018 season, Davis helped lead the Tigers to an overall record of 24-5. The right-hander had a pitching record of 23-5, with a 1.01 earned-run average. Davis struck out 255 batters in the 170 innings she pitched that season, and she was honored as both the Three Rivers League Pitcher of the Year and the Class 6A Pitcher of the Year.

In addition to her dominant pitching, Davis hit for a .371 batting average as a senior, with 10 doubles, four home runs and 31 RBIs.

Davis’ last win at Tigard might have been her biggest.

That victory came in the second round of the Class 6A state playoffs, where Davis helped lead the Tigers to a 3-0 win over Glencoe at Glencoe High School.

In that game, Davis outdueled Crimson Tide standout pitcher Izzy Womack, who has gone on to play for Central Washington University. Davis allowed five hits while striking out 11 and walking one in the second-round postseason victory, which put the Tigers in the quarterfinal round of the state playoffs for the first time since 1995.

“The Glencoe game was one of my favorite memories,” Davis said.

She graduated from Tigard with plenty of memories — and plenty of promise for the future.

“I absolutely loved my time at Tigard,” Davis said. “I think it helped me to become a leader. I’ve definitely grown from that. (Tigard head coach) Pete (Kostel) has been really supportive. And it’s fun to see where we’ve all gone from there.”

On to college

Following her stellar high school softball career at Tigard, Davis had a very important choice to make – where to go to college. 

“I was in between choosing a few majors, but I was leaning toward nursing, and that eliminated a couple of (college) choices,” Davis said. “I like being at a D3 school that is willing to let you take nursing courses. I also have a faith background. I love the campus, and I talked to (George Fox head coach) Jessica (Hollen) and I really like how she runs the program.”

So, the choice was made. Davis was going to take her softball skills, and her nursing aspirations, down Highway 99 to Newberg, and George Fox University.

“It checked a lot of boxes,” she said.

Even though Davis entered George Fox with an impressive softball resume, she soon found out that high school softball and college softball aren’t the same.

“It is totally different,” she said. “Weight training is a big thing. The hitters are so different. You go from pitching to 18-year-olds, or younger, to pitching to 22-year-olds who have been weight training for four years. For me, I had to adjust to the power hitters.”

In her freshman season, Davis was one of three pitchers to start a game in the circle for the Bruins. She started 11 games for the George Fox team that went 26-16. Davis had a 5-7 win-loss record with one save. She posted a 7.02 ERA, with 24 strikeouts and 18 walks in 59 innings.

“The biggest challenge was the competition level, and how developed the hitters were. I had to be a lot more accurate with my pitch placement and sequence,” Davis said. “I also had to adjust to how long the season is. There were also better batters and better competition. I had to ask myself, ‘How do I get better?’”

With Davis, that always seems to be a top priority.

“I learned a lot my first year from our senior pitcher, Winter Ridgeway,” Davis said. “And I continued to work hard every day. My mindset was to work on the little things. Those are important.”

The unexpected

Davis was ready to go for her sophomore softball season at George Fox.

But one thing she wasn’t ready for — or anyone was, for that matter — was the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Bruins ended up playing only 15 games that season, going 10-5. Their final game was a 7-6 loss to Alma on March 8, 2020, in Tucson, Ariz. 

“It was a sad year to lose,” Davis said. “We had so much cohesiveness as a team. I think we could have done a lot of great things that season. We had a special team. It was hard not to get a chance to reach our full potential.”

In the abbreviated 2020 season, Davis started eight games in the circle, going 6-2 with a 2.78 ERA. She struck out 35 batters and walked 12 in 40 and one-third innings.

“Something just clicked for me,” she said. “I built a really good understanding with my coaches. My placement got a lot better.”

While the 2020 season might have been an opportunity lost for the Bruins — and many others — Davis wasn’t going to let any chance to get better go to waste. She also developed an even deeper appreciation for the game.

“It was a learning season,” Davis said. “We learned that you have to take every opportunity that you get, and that you can’t take anything for granted.” 

Junior jubilation

With her now deeper appreciation, and her unending desire to get better, Davis stepped up even more during her junior season at George Fox.

“That was a big one for me. I had a lot of fun,” Davis said of the 2021 campaign.

Winning, and excelling, definitely can be fun.

The Bruins went 28-11, and they won the Northwest Conference regular-season championship with a 23-5 mark in NWC games.

“We went 28-11, and that was a big year for us,” Davis said. “It was a lot of fun. We had some incredible players, and a lot of home-run hitters.”

Davis and senior Sarah Storton, from Las Gatos, Calif., were a formidable one-two pitching punch for George Fox in 2021.

“We had a strong pitching staff,” Davis said. “It was fun working together with Sarah. We had so much respect for each other.”

Davis, in her junior campaign with the Bruins, went 17-5 with a 2.62 ERA. She struck out 102 batters and walked just 22 in 131 innings. 

“I was able to control my pitches a lot better, and I found a groove with my placement and pitch sequence,” Davis said. “I also was able to develop a drop-curve.”

The accolades followed. 

Maybe the biggest for Davis was being named the Northwest Conference Pitcher of the Year for the 2021 season. She also was an NFCA Division III All-Region second-team pick and an All-Northwest Conference Scholar-Athlete.

A super senior

Coming off that honor-filled junior season, the question for Davis entering her senior campaign was, what was she going to do for an encore? 

“It felt like it would be hard to top last year. I’d like to be an All-American, but that’s not really in my control,” Davis said of her outlook entering the 2022 season. “I wanted to improve on what was already working for me. I just wanted to compete from pitch to pitch, thinking, ‘How am I going to top last year?’ But my big goal for myself was to do whatever I could to help my team.”

As it turned out, she helped the Bruins plenty. 

As of April 29, Davis has a 22-6 pitching record with a 2.00 ERA and two saves. She has 135 strikeouts and 35 walks in 182 and one-third innings. Davis also has four complete-game shutouts, including a two-hitter in a 1-0 victory at Piedmont, when she struck out eight and walked none.

“It’s been a fun year,” Davis said. “I’ve got to pitch a lot of innings and be in a lot of pressure situations. But it’s nice that the coaches and the team trust me in those pressure situations.”

It sounds like George Fox head coach Jessica Hollen definitely has trust in Davis in pressure situations — or any situation.

“I think the key to Ashley’s success is her ability to focus and compete for us, pitch to pitch,” Hollen said. “She is as good as anyone in not giving in, and she can’t stand to lose.”

Up until this past week, Davis led all of Division III in pitching victories.

“I didn’t expect it at all,” said Davis, an All-Northwest Conference first-team selection. “It’s just surreal.” 

As of April 29, Bethel University junior Kayla Simacek, who picked up six wins in five days earlier in the week, took over the national lead in pitching victories, including postseason play, with 26. Davis and Linfield junior Tayah Kelley are tied for second in the nation, each with 22 wins. 

But there looks to be a chance that Davis, and the Bruins, can get some more victories.

While George Fox didn’t win the Northwest Conference tournament — Linfield triumphed and earned the automatic bid to play in the NCAA Division III regionals — the Bruins, at 31-12, hold the No. 5 spot in the latest Region 10 rankings, meaning they could grab a berth to regionals.

The NCAA Division III softball postseason selection show is scheduled for May 9 at 10 a.m. Pacific time on NCAA.com.

“I’d love to make it to regionals,” Davis said. “I want us to take the next step. We’re capable. I think we’re starting to peak right now.” 

Winning off the field

While softball is important to Davis, so are her nursing studies at George Fox.

“I’m hoping to get a nursing job in pediatrics, in the Portland area,” Davis said.

Excelling on the softball field and in the classroom might be a challenge, but Davis has taken on that challenge, and has even benefited from it. 

“Finding a balance between nursing and softball this year has been big,” Davis said. “I’m better when I’m busier. That keeps me focused on both areas.”

Davis also has a bunch of her George Fox teammates facing the same scholar-athlete challenges.

“Right now, there are a total of 10 of us on the team in the nursing program. Nursing is an intense major, so we all help each other. We all know what each other is going through,” Davis said. “The relationships with the team have gotten stronger. We all hang out together a lot. We’re like our own little family. I live with three of my teammates, and that’s been great.

“George Fox has been amazing, and Newberg is fun — it’s a close-knit place.”

While Davis is excited to one day start her nursing career, she also wouldn’t mind putting that off a year, as she’s hoping she can work things out and regain a year of softball eligibility, making up for the 2020 season lost to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I’m hopeful that it works out that I can get one more year,” she said. “It’s just been a phenomenal experience.”

It sounds like Ashley Davis is looking for an opportunity to get even better.