Softball captain excited for season on the diamond, career in agriculture
Ag science major grateful for the rise of BVU’s Institute for Agriculture and excited about career beginning at Seaboard Triumph Foods.
An incredibly successful spring trip to Arizona for Buena Vista University softball pitcher Ashtyn Miller ended rather unceremoniously.
Miller sprained her ankle walking from a restaurant to the motel with her family after the last of eight games in Tucson, where the Beavers went 6-2 and climbed to 13-5 on the season.
“I played the whole week and then got injured walking along a sidewalk,” Miller said with a laugh. “At least it happened AFTER the games!”
Miller became a bit of a game-time decision for Coach Mandie Nocita as the Beavers traveled to the Twin Cities the third weekend in March. The senior from Council Bluffs proved she was more than ready by going 8-15 at the plate and winning the Sunday nightcap for the Beavers, part of a successful three-win weekend that elevated BVU to a 16-6 ledger.
“Ashtyn responded to her injury like a champion,” says Nocita. “Through her work and commitment, she’s grown as part of a team nucleus that’s producing positive results for the entire program, whether it’s on offense, in the field, or through leadership on and off the field.”
The start to the softball campaign represents the beginning of a packed spring for Miller, an ag science major who will start her career as a Rotational Graduate with Seaboard Triumph Foods in Sioux City in June. For six months, she’ll rotate through a variety of areas within the company, learning all she can before gaining a supervisory role in operations.
After beginning her BVU academic career as a biology major, Miller, a Dean’s List honoree, switched to ag science with a concentration in animal science when the BVU Institute for Agriculture began activity on campus during Miller’s sophomore year. The programming was a match for Miller, who was raised on a grain and livestock farm.
“About half of my classes have had quite a bit of time at the Agricultural Experiment Station (AES),” she says. The instruction complemented her work experience at the BV Veterinary Clinic, where she interned, and at Rustic Cuts Butcher Shop in Council Bluffs, where she worked three summers.
“We have a close-knit team that can act goofy and have a lot of fun while playing the game. We also know that we can play with anybody.”
Ashtyn Miller
Before her career begins, however, Miller has several weeks to enjoy time spent with her BVU classmates and teammates. Her softball friends, she says, are with her most often as they reside together in the suites.
“This team has the most depth we’ve had in my four years at BVU,” says Miller, who plays first base, shortstop, and serves as a designated hitter when she’s not pitching. “This is the first season in two years (because of COVID-19 constraints) where we could actually come together to do offseason workouts as a team. I think it’s making a difference.”
Miller, who earned the pitching victory to salvage a split against previously once-beaten No. 22 St. Benedict on March 20, believes the Beavers are poised to make noise in the American Rivers Conference. Miller, who leads the team in hitting (.400 average) and has fashioned a 6-2 mark in the pitcher’s circle, hopes the best is yet to come for an emerging BVU ballclub.
“I’m super excited about getting into the conference season,” she concludes. “We have a close-knit team that can act goofy and have a lot of fun while playing the game. We also know that we can play with anybody.”