Career Highlights
SEC Freshman of the Week (Feb. 13, 2023)
2023 | Freshman
Played in 56 games with 55 starts at shortstop as a true freshman … Slashed .203/.361/.285 with 27 hits, 24 RBI, 24 runs scored, six doubles and five home runs … Tallied a .942 fielding percentage on 189 total chances … Turned 13 double plays at shortstop … Named SEC Freshman on the Week on Feb. 13 … Made first career start at short in season opener vs. Weber State (Feb. 10) … Recorded first career hit and drew two walks vs. UNLV (Feb. 10) … Compiled first career multi-hit performance after going 2-for-3 with an RBI and one run scored vs. Southern Utah (Feb. 11) … Finished 1-for-2 with an RBI single vs. Weber State (Feb. 11) … Went 3-for-4 with a home run, three RBI and two runs scored vs. Baylor (Feb. 12) … Recorded back-to-back games with a double vs. Louisiana and Indiana (Feb. 18) at the Clearwater Invitational … Went 2-for-2 with an RBI vs. Arizona (Feb. 24) … Launched a solo home run vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (March 2) … Finished 1-for-2 with a two-RBI single at Alabama (March 19) … Went 1-for-2 with an RBI double and scored a run vs. Florida (March 26) … Mashed an RBI single at Kentucky (April 22) … Rocketed a three-run home run in game two at Kentucky (April 22) … Smashed a solo home run at Western Kentucky (April 24) … Recorded a grand slam in series finale at Missouri (May 7) … Singled vs. Alabama in the SEC Tournament in Fayetteville (May 11).
High School: A 2019 state champion at Corning-Painted Post High School … Earned a top 10 overall ranking in Extra Inning Softball’s 2022 Extra Elite 100 … As a high school junior her team won a section championship and she hit .556, reaching base at a .619 clip while totaling 20 hits, six doubles, two triples, four home runs, 16 RBIs and 22 runs scored … Named first team all-state and a two-time Class AA all-star in her career and began playing high school softball as an eighth grader, recording a .426 batting average … Played travel ball for Team NC in summer 2021, posting a .339 batting average with five home runs and 24 RBIs.
Personal: The daughter of Fernando and Audrey Rijo, Atalyia comes from a diamond sports family … Her mother Audrey played Division I softball at UNCW and her dad Fernando pitched 11 seasons in the minor leagues for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Baltimore Orioles, Montreal Expos, Milwaukee Brewers and Houston Astros organizations … Her cousin Jose Rijo pitched for 14 seasons in MLB and won the 1990 World Series with the Cincinnati Reds and was named World Series MVP … Became just the second Razorback softball student-athlete from New York.
