Michelle Castro’s career, athletic and academic, was in jeopardy after one year of high school.
Castro didn’t meet the 2.5 grade-point average required to play for the East Unionsoftball team, and temporarily, her frustration was overwhelming. She wanted to transfer.
Through the words of the Lancers’ coaches and her parents, Castro stuck around, committed herself to the classroom, and eventually, terrorized her opposition on the diamond.
Castro was a menace of a leadoff hitter as a senior, batting .565 with 21 extra-base hits, as the Lancers shared the Valley Oak League title with Oakdale. As a result, Castro is The Record’s All-Area Player of the Year. Tracy’s Paulette Keeney, who guided the Bulldogs to a co-Tri-City Athletic League crown and their first Sac-Joaquin Section championship appearance in 11 years, is The All-Area Coach of the Year.
Castro is the second consecutive Lancer to be named player of the year, after Sam Owen, a senior shortstop and one of Castro’s best friends, earned it last season.
“She basically said, ‘I don’t want to play here. I’m going to leave,’” Lancers coach Brian Goulart said, of Castro’s attitude after her freshman season. Yet, her parents were firm: “’We’re not leaving. We like what you’re doing with our daughter.’
“We started chipping away at that. It was a four-year ride, and by the time she got to the end of her junior year, she was an absolute joy to have around. Her senior year was spectacular.”
And her grades went from sub-par to excellent, as she made the honor roll with a 3.5-plus GPA as an upperclassman.
“I wasn’t really too hot with my grades. That motivated me to become a better person (for my coaches),” said Castro, who added she’s always struggled academically. “I had to concentrate more on school, and that’s really my highlight of being a Lancer – is my education.”
Throughout Castro’s “long journey” she received help from teammates and friends Owen and Deja Guzman. And in her senior year, Castro peaked.
Castro, 19, had long been situated lower in the order, performing a lot of bunting, she said, but was moved to the leadoff spot. And boy, did she feel at home.
Castro, beyond her stellar batting average, posted eight home runs, nine doubles, four triples, an on-base percentage of .584 and a slugging percentage of 1.087. Not to mention, she was equal parts Barry Bonds and Rickey Henderson – swiping 16 bases.
And that base-running prowess is one of Goulart’s favorite parts of Castro’s skill set.
“It’s the Michelle Castro show. She’s setting the tone,” Goulart said. “Her base-running is spectacular. She has to be the best base-runner that I think I’ve ever coached. She does some crazy, amazing, delayed steals.”
Castro is heading to William Penn College in Oskaloosa, Iowa, to compete for the Statesmen’s NAIA softball program. Goulart has a feeling she’ll be a sought-after recruiting prospect – even while in college.
“I want to honor and be excited about her signing. I would be surprised if some other big-time school doesn’t come along. There’s a trend in college softball right now,” Goulart said. “There’s a (lot) of girls who (transfer). I would say William Penn is very fortunate to have her, and they better enjoy her.
“If I’m at Georgia, Pacific, or some other school, I come coming after Michelle Castro.”
Castro never aimed low, especially as a senior. During the first practice of the season, Goulart said and Castro confirmed with a laugh, she stated she wanted to be an All-American, and asked Goulart how she could get there.
“If I get a vote on it, obviously, I’m going to say absolutely she did. I think that she’ll get recognized,” said Goulart, a two-time section champion as Lancers coach. “You have to look at her stats and her prowess. I think somebody’s going to recognize her.”
The right person for the job
After Greg Smith coached Tracy softball for 23 years, he cared deeply about who took over the program when he resigned.
Ideally, he’d love to see a woman who’d played the game, and who could be a role model for the girls. Plus, he’d be happy to see a Tracy High graduate in the job.
Done and done.
Keeney, in her first year as a varsity coach at any school, guided the Bulldogs to the section finals for the first time since 2005. Tracy lost its finale 2-1 to now seven-time champion Sacramento-Sheldon, but had the tying run thrown out at the plate. A victory there could’ve forced a winner-take-all finale.
Keeney connected with her players immediately. That was a constant theme among the Bulldogs’ praise for Keeney after the season. She inspired them. She talked to them truthfully, but without being insulting. She treated them like adults.
“She was just really motivational. She inspired all of the girls by pushing us as far as we could. She was just really positive,” said junior Mikayla Coelho, a first-team All-Area pitcher. “She gave all of the girls a lot of confidence. She never put anybody down.”
Rachel Cid, the Bulldogs sophomore shortstop and fellow first-team All-Area pick, said Keeney was able to balance a keyed-up persona on game day with the even-keeled person she is in her personal life.
“She’s a very high-energy person on the field. Off the field, she’s not really like that,” Cid said. “On the field she’s always energetic and keeps us moving and engaged.”
Tracy finished 24-7 overall and 12-3 in the TCAL, where it split a title with St. Mary’s. The Bulldogs won their TCAL series with the Rams, thus earning the higher section playoff seed. Tracy advanced to the section finals the hard way, through the loser’s bracket, where it beat El Dorado Hills-Oak Ridge, Roseville-Woodcreek, Merced and Modesto-Gregori to stay alive.
— Contact reporter Thomas Lawrence at (209) 546-8272 or tlawrence@recordnet.com. Follow him at recordnet.com/sportsblog and on Twitter @RecordPreps.