Eight-year-old Ysa Gonzales cried her heart out.
Her parents just informed her they signed her up for softball. Gonzales did not want to play. At all.
Fast forward 10 years to Tuesday night. Gonzales was down again, though she wasn’t crying. She wasn’t upset that she had to play softball. She was upset she couldn’t play more.
The senior outfielder had just closed out her final game at the San Marcos softball stadium with a 9-7 victory over Smithson Valley.
“I ended up loving the game,” Gonzales said. “And now I sit back and watch the little kids play at that age. And it’s crazy how I was there and now I’m able to play in college and having a great life.”
Tuesday was also the final home game for senior catcher Sydney Salazar. The pair of upperclassmen started playing softball at a young age and stuck with the sport through middle school. It gave them a leg up on their peers as they attended San Marcos head coach Cathy Stoughton’s annual summer camp for incoming freshmen.
“I was like ‘I have to impress her if I wanna be on varsity,’” Salazar said. “I was very aggressive. I don’t know, I just had that look, I guess.”
Stoughton was impressed by both players’ abilities and thought they had the talent to earn a spot on the varsity team. When official tryouts came around during the school year, Stoughton went ahead and moved Gonzales up.
She wanted to be a bit more patient with Salazar, though. Mariah Delgado, a senior at the time who now plays for East Texas Baptist University, was slated to catch for the Lady Rattlers. Stoughton didn’t want Salazar riding the bench.
“So Syd came in, stayed on the JV, got some playing time, some time behind the plate. Because I knew she was going to be our go-to for the next three years,” Stoughton said. “And she’s come out sophomore, junior and senior year and just been a great backstop for us … She comes out here and she’s one of the toughest kids I know.”
Gonzales tore her ACL her freshman season. Sophomore year represented a fresh start for both players. Salazar was called up as planned and the two helped lead San Marcos to an 8-2 district record and a playoff berth. Gonzales was named to the All-District first team.
Two years later, the pair are the senior leaders of the team. After the Lady Rattlers fell behind 5-0 in the top of the first inning, Gonzales and Salazar helped guide the hosts back in front.
In the bottom of the first frame, Gonzales hit a single and crossed home plate two at-bats later, contributing to a four-run inning by the hosts. Salazar kept junior pitcher Heavenny Garcia relaxed the rest of the way, and the righty finished the game allowing just two more runs and striking out seven.
“When you have senior night, sometimes you don’t know how it’s going to go,” Stoughton said. “We’ve been on both ends where it’s been a distraction enough to where we haven’t played well and we’ve been on, like tonight, the winning end where I feel like it had an underlying motivation for us. I think it really played into our confidence tonight. I know the girls really wanted to win for (the seniors). And that helped us step it up a notch.”
Gonzales and Salazar will conclude their high school careers on Friday when San Marcos (11-17, 2-9 district) travels to New Braunfels Canyon (20-4, 12-1) to take on the Cougarettes at 7 p.m.
After high school, Gonzales will play softball for Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio. Salazar plans to enlist in the Army. Both hope they’ve set a foundation for the team to build on in the seasons to come.
“I think it was definitely a stepping stone for next year’s season,” Gonzales said. “I know a lot of these girls, we’re winning these games little-by-little and they’re getting more confidence … it just made everything perfect tonight.”
“(I’ll miss) just this whole Lady Rattler softball program in general,” Salazar said. “We’re just all a family and I appreciate each and every one of them very much.”
