By ADAM KUJAWSKI, Staff Writer
The relationship between a pitcher and catcher is among the most unique in sports. The teamwork required to execute a game plan takes an immense amount of trust and experience.
For the Brownsville Veterans Memorial Lady Chargers, their current pitcher-catcher tandem is in its infancy. Freshman pitcher Cassie Valdez and freshman catcher Harley Morales join junior pitcher Sarah Sandoval, and the trio is working to become one of the more formidable groups in the Rio Grande Valley.
Morales is the anchor behind the plate, balancing the two-player pitching staff and learning along the way. She’s been catching since she was in seventh grade and is still developing her craft of calling pitches.
“I had to work hard because I haven’t been catching for a long time,” Morales said, “so I had to work from the bottom and work all summer to get where I am right now.”
Her coach, Ray Cardenas, agrees with his catcher, who owns a .382 batting average to accompany a .488 on-base percentage and a .605 slugging percentage. In the field, she’s registered 145 outs, nine assists and zero errors.
“She’s a great player and has great instincts,” Cardenas said. “And the part that amazes me is that, for a person who’s learning that position, she’s able to get the respect of the pitchers and their trust. They believe she’s going to make every stop, they believe that every pitch called is the one that’s going to get the out they need. It’s just amazing that a girl this young can command the respect of Sarah, who’s accomplished a lot, and the freshman phenom.”
The phenom he’s referring to is Valdez, the young pitcher who is both a threat at the plate and on the mound. She’s worked to become a formidable force on the Lady Chargers’ squad.
“It’s been a little tough because people think, ‘She’s just a freshman, we don’t expect much from her,’” Valdez said, “but I’ve been really working hard to prove them wrong.”
Valdez owns a .372 batting average, .449 on-base percentage and a .605 slugging percentage so far in district. Those numbers complement a 3.16 ERA, a 1.26 WHIP and 47 strikeouts from the mound in six starts.
“She’s learning what it means to be successful at this level, and she’s learning extremely quick,” Cardenas said. “She pitched in the scrimmages and in the non-district games. She’d pitch well and then she’d get into trouble, and she learned what she needed to do and what needed to happen.
“Now since we’ve been in district, she could be ranked up there with some of the best pitchers in the Valley, in my opinion, with Crystal (Castillo of San Benito) and with the (pitcher from Edinburg North).”
The freshman pair is fortunate to have a veteran like Sandoval to model their approach after. The junior leads the team with a 1.46 district ERA and a 1.07 WHIP to go with 40 strikeouts. From the plate, she’s got a .250 batting average, a .467 on-base percentage and a .344 slugging percentage.
“She’s the rock, she’s the leader of this team,” Cardenas said. “She’s played in so many big games before, and she’s a winner at everything she does. She’s one of the leaders on the volleyball team, she’s one of the leaders on the basketball team and we needed that here.
“She’s shown a lot of growth, and the maturity in her has grown a lot in the last couple of weeks. All the players respecter her, and she leads by example.”
The Lady Chargers own a 6-6 record in District 32-6A and are in a battle for a playoff spot.
Playing competitive softball is somewhat of new feeling under Cardenas, who is in his first year with the Lady Chargers.
“(This season) is different compared to the last two years that I’ve been here,” Sandoval said. “Since we got more girls with more experience and we got a new coach, it’s just a whole new program.
“Most people expect us to roll over during the games, but it’s not like that anymore. We’re not the same team we were in past years, we’re different now.”
Cardenas, formerly a coach at Los Fresnos, returned to coaching this season after spending some time away from the game. Upon his return to the dugout, he’s happy with the direction his program is headed.
Adam Kujawski covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6663 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @adamkujo1.