MERCEDES — Mercedes’ Mika Vento is a standout athlete on the track and basketball and volleyball courts, but the diamond comes first for her.
Vento’s play for the Tigers as a junior this past season earned her a spot in the Texas Girls Coaches Association 5A-6A Softball All-Star Game at 7:30 on Wednesday, July 10 at Workman Softball Complex in Arlington. She’s the lone Rio Grande Valley representative and joins 26 of the top softball juniors from across the state.
“This is just an extremely huge honor and I feel so blessed to have been given the chance to have been nominated and then selected,” Vento said.
The soon-to-be senior spends her summers putting in work to improve her softball game. That year-round work, in Vento’s own words, has been a journey.
“It feels great to know that all the work I put in is getting me places,” Vento said. “I play multiple sports, and every other season I’m doing volleyball, I’m doing basketball, I’m doing track, but softball is an ongoing thing. Throughout every sport, I’m missing tournaments, I’m missing a district game because I have showcases up-state and I’m going and playing. It’s just all the sacrifices that my family and I have made and it’s great to finally be showing and coming through. It just feels amazing.”
Mercedes coach Kristy Leal said Vento earned her spot with not just her outstanding play on the field, but through her commitment to the game.
“She’s a very good softball player and devotes a lot of time and is very dedicated to the sport,” Leal said. “She doesn’t just pitch. We put her at first base, as well, and she really excels. She had a really good year at the plate, too, and she earned her spot. There were a lot of nominations, and she was the only one to make it from the Valley, so that’s pretty special.”
Vento hit .358 for the Tigers and finished with a team-high 26 RBIs, five home runs and 17 runs scored in 26 games. In the circle, Vento posted a 9-2 record with a 0.72 ERA and struck out 108 batters in 67 2/3 innings. She was a key piece to the Tigers’ 23-11-1 year and 12-2 performance in District 32-5A.
Vento said she hopes to be an example to younger softball players in the RGV aspiring to reach the level she has.
“It feels great, not only for me but for the rest of the Mercedes program and the rest of the Valley, at that,” Vento said. “If I can do it, there’s so many other girls out there, younger girls, who are eventually going to get here to do the exact same thing if they put forth the effort, the practice and the work,” she said. “It’s very possible for everybody.”
Vento will play for the 5A-6A Blue All-Star Team.
Pre-game and player introductions are scheduled for 7 p.m., while first pitch of the TGCA All-Star game is slated for 7:30 p.m.