If there ever was an athlete who personified the bigger is not better philosophy, it’s Isha Gonzalez.
The San Benito High third baseman/shortstop stands a shade over 5 feet tall, but the impact she’s made for the Haybalers softball program has been enormous.
“Isha has been one of the most reliable and steadiest players we’ve had here in the last four years,” Balers coach Scott Smith said. “She’s probably got the softest hands of any player that I’ve coached here, and I go into games hoping teams hit the ball to her because I know she can handle anything that comes her way.”
Gonzalez, who recently earned a scholarship to play at Dickinson State University in North Dakota, possesses a Midas touch with the glove and tremendous instincts to pick up the ball off the bat.
“There are not many players that can match her quickness in reacting to the ball,” Smith said. “Not many players will get to balls she does.”
A defensive whiz, Gonzalez has also become more potent at the plate this season. Gonzalez takes hitting lessons from Rich Aldrete in Monterey, and she said her offensive production is up because of the work she’s put in over the years.
“I’m hitting the ball a lot harder and getting on base more,” Gonzalez said. “I’m doing different drills to stay solid through contact, and it’s helped me a lot to feel stronger at the plate.”
A four-year varsity player, Gonzalez actually grew up playing baseball because her parents thought the game of softball was too slow.
“I played with most of the varsity guys (who are on this year’s baseball team),” she said.
Gonzalez made a couple of Hollister Little League All-Star teams, but like most girls, had to make the switch to softball as she neared her teenage years. Gonzalez was 11 or 12 when she switched to softball, and the transition was rather startling.
“It was a big change going from a small baseball to something so huge,” said Gonzalez, who recently earned a scholarship to play at Dickinson State University, a NAIA program in North Dakota. “At first you feel like you can whack every pitch because the ball is so huge, but the pitchers are pretty tough. And when it came to fielding the ball, my arm got sore in the beginning because of the change in grip in throwing a softball compared to a baseball.”
Despite her fielding prowess, Gonzalez admits it can be a bit harrowing at times to play the hot corner.
“Sometimes I get scared if the No. 3 or 4 hitters are up, but you get used to it after a while,” she said. “As a fielder, my approach is I don’t want anyone to hit the ball past me. I try to keep everything in front of me and block the ball if I can’t field it cleanly.”
San Benito entered the week with a 6-1 record in the Monterey Bay League’s Gabilan Division, one game back of Notre Dame-Salinas, which beat the Balers 5-0 on April 14. The Balers’ 15-8 win over Salinas on April 23 didn’t do anything to alleviate Smith’s concerns about the team’s chances to reclaim a Central Coast Section championship.
After all, the Balers had allowed eight runs only one other time this season, against Bingham of South Jordan, Utah, in the Las Vegas Spring Jamboree last month. Granted, Smith used his reserves liberally against Salinas, but even then he expected more from the team against a squad that is currently in last place in the Gabilan Division standings.
“We’re in a little bit of a funk for sure,” Smith said. “We’re struggling to find out how to improve, and we’re not sure how the team wants to improve or what motivates them. It’s hard because in all the years I’ve coached, this has been a real puzzle to try to figure out. We have a lot of talent out there, and as coaches, we hope to figure it out before the playoffs start.”
Although the Balers have had their ups and downs this season, Gonzalez has been consistently solid in every phase of the game. Gonzalez has always displayed an inner determination to improve, and that helped her land a scholarship to play college softball.
It was a dream come true for Gonzalez, who has been working her way to the top from the moment she started playing sports at 5 or 6.
“When I was offered the scholarship, I wanted to cry,” she said. “But I didn’t because I was so happy. I felt like I deserved it after all I went through. I felt like a weight was taken off my shoulders. But this game is hard, so I have to keep on pushing and working hard to get better.”
