Skagit Valley Herald Softball Player of the Year: Kasandra Gonzalez
Kasandra Gonzalez was nearly unhittable in her final season with the Sedro-Woolley High School softball team.
The senior pitcher befuddled batters all season as the Cubs cruised through the regular season and the majority of the postseason before their 21-game win streak was snapped in the championship game of the Class 3A State Tournament.
They finished the season 24-3.
Gonzalez is the Skagit Valley Herald Softball Player of the Year for the third consecutive year.
"It went good," Gonzalez said of her season. "Obviously, it didn't end like we wanted it to. But overall we accomplished some really good things and we played our hearts out. We all had fun on the field. We gave it all we had.
"I was excited about my senior year. It was my last year of high school ball and I was going to leave it all out there. It was about making memories and winning games."
Sedro-Woolley coach Maddie Jones had high praise for her pitcher, saying she was a once-in-a-lifetime type of player.
"She's just the kind of kid that wants to ball all the time and especially in those pressure situations," Jones said.
Gonzalez finished her career with multiple school records.
Her 721 career strikeouts is a school record as are her 51 total wins, 13.52 strikeouts per seven innings pitched and 0.662 WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched).
"She was definitely the pitcher other teams in the conference did not want to see in the starting lineup," Jones said. "She was much more efficient with getting batters out early in counts rather than going deep. She worked ahead of batters and then just really mowed them down. It was really impressive."
Single-season records Gonzalez set were 15.52 strikeouts per seven innings pitched, a 0.559 WHIP and 11 shutouts.
"At the beginning of the season, it was a little bit of a struggle," she said. "I was adjusting some things, but toward the middle and end I felt like I started getting my rhythm. I was dominating and dialed in."
More spin resulting in more break was a key to Gonzalez's dominance.
"Getting a better break was a big focus and then combining the speed and the spin together to keep hitters off balance and guessing," she said.
Gonzalez gave credit to her team for the run support, saying having runs on the board was big for her, and when she did give up a flurry of hits (which was rare) she knew the team had her back.
At the plate, Gonzalez finished the season with a .578 batting average with eight home runs, two triples and eight doubles. She had 48 RBI and stuck out only seven times.
"My hitting was a big conversation between me and my dad," she said. "This season, when I was in the box, I felt I had the most confidence I've ever had. I was just seeing the ball really well and my timing was on. I felt like I was seeing the ball look like a huge watermelon."
Playing relaxed was a key. Gonzalez said she felt no pressure, and as if she everything to gain and nothing to lose.
"We didn't have to prove anything to anyone," she said. "We had our standard set and we just all kept pushing toward the same goal, and although we didn't reach it we strived for it."
Gonzalez is pleased with how her softball career at Sedro-Woolley played out.
"It's definitely been a great four years," she said. "This team was underestimated, we were underdogs and we were top dogs. It taught me a lot about perseverance and I'm grateful for that."
Graduating with a 4.0 GPA, Gonzalez will play next season at Cal State Fullerton. She wants to become a corporate lawyer.
"I'm excited," she said of playing softball at the next level. "It's something I've dreamed of doing since I was a little girl. It's going to be a challenge, and it's going to be a long road, but I'm up for it and it's going to be good for me.
"And I have to thank all my coaches, my family and my teammates for helping me to get to this point."
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