2008 Softball All-Star Team

Determination and a coach's encouragement paid off.

Published online on Friday, Jun. 27, 2008

Vanessa Salinas always had to overcome the odds.

Her tiny frame just didn't fit the sports she wanted to play -- softball and wrestling.

She started wrestling in the fourth grade and has a color photo of her in a singlet on the cover of a wrestling magazine, taken for fun as a studio shot and keepsake. Her look of determination in the photo is clear.

"My brothers were wrestling and they got new equipment, and I was like, 'If I join wrestling, do I get new stuff?" Salinas said. "So I did wrestling for a year. I lost all my matches but I got new gear."

She also played volleyball, basketball and soccer, but softball was it for her as a freshman at Madera High.

Because of her 5-foot-3 size, she heard these words early on: "Nobody's going to look at you because you're so small."

No pitching coach would work with her. Salinas -- The Bee's Player of the Year -- learned early on she had to work twice as hard just to prove she could compete. All she wanted to do was pitch and play softball, so she practiced indoors wind-milling wadded-up sock balls. She fastened a belt around her waist and pitching arm to improve her wrist strength and flip release. She also threw pitches to her brothers and father, Sal Belmontes, for endless hours.

Her brothers Isaac Salinas, 16, and Michael Salinas, 19, got hit by her pitches, sometimes on purpose.

Once at Madera, pitching coaches Ralph Bailey and Javier Meza worked with her and she worked her way into the lineup. Salinas split the pitching duties with Jessica Cantu last season, but took over the lead role this year and it fit just fine. The timing was perfect. She was in shape mentally and physically. And Madera coach Judy Shaubach gave her a boost. Considering Shaubach is a 5-foot-2 athlete, she could relate.

"Coach told me, 'I see something special in you. You're going to be something special,' and I've lived on those words since then," Salinas said. "She was someone big in my life that helped me a lot. She's more than a coach."

Salinas led the Coyotes to the Central Section Division I title game, something they hadn't done since Madera won it in 1989. Second-seeded Centennial upset the No. 1 Coyotes 2-1, but after all the tears and emotion, it sank in.

Salinas, a right-hander, went 24-4, posting an ERA of 0.78, and she threw 227 strikeouts and allowed just 29 walks and 21 earned runs in 189 innings (703 batters). She had 16 shutouts, three no-hitters and one perfect game, and hit .347 in the No. 5 spot. Salinas also drove in 24 runs on 35 hits.

"Coach always told me to never give up, never throw in the towel," she said. "Even if we're down 2-0, she'll say, 'This is our game, this is our inning, take it inning by inning and pitch by pitch,' and she's constantly saying it. That's one thing, she's taught me to believe."

Salinas dug deep and pitched every game to go 10-0 in the Tri-River Athletic Conference, but the Coyotes struggled despite her throwing six shutouts. She faced the toughest test of all when longtime friend and teammate Kathy Cota was ruled academically ineligible.

"Losing Kathy was the hardest," Salinas said. "I can't explain how important she was to the team and being there. That was one of the hardest points for me because we were close and losing her was like losing a sister."

The high point for Salinas came on the flip side of handling the loss. She was named the TRAC most valuable player.

"Everybody stepped it up," Salinas said. "The real good part was going 10-0 in TRAC and making it to the Valley championship. Even though we didn't win, we all went through so many struggles, we were getting tested every day. The girls are great, they're like all my sisters and they're wonderful."

She earned a scholarship to play at Utah Valley State College. Senior catcher Shelby Shaubach will miss her other half.

"I've caught her for three years and I call the pitches," she said. "Vanessa has never shook me off because she trusts me. When we were playing in our first tourney this season in Visalia, she was blowing the ball by people. That's when I knew this year was going to be special."

Salinas counted on her catcher to ease the pressure.

"When I go out there, I honestly don't even hear the crowd. It's just me and Shelby," Salinas said. "She's just constantly talking to me saying, 'Don't fall off to the right or make sure you snap or be smart.' I'll get frustrated with the defense or myself and she'll call time out and come out and say, 'Don't worry, we're going to get this.' I trust in her 100% with whatever she calls, I'll throw."

Judy Shaubach will definitely miss her ace pitcher.

"Vanessa was the backbone of our team," she said. "She is dependable, competitive, intense, hard-working and a true leader."