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BELEN — It is a bit of a gamble, moving a sure thing to something that has high potential but no guarantee. However, Oscar Medrano, Belen softball coach, and Shyla Rocha talked it over and made the move.
That move was about 60 feet.
Rocha went from first base, where she was selected first team All-State last season as a freshman, to second base.
As Medrano evaluated his roster to, “find the right girls for the right spots,” he determined the best use of Rocha’s skills was at second base or third base or outfield, depending on the situation.
“Coach, I’ll do whatever it takes for the team,” was Rocha’s response when Medrano approached her about possible changes. “She’s really transitioned well,” said Medrano. “She’s done a great job, a phenomenal job.”
For Rocha, the move has been a welcome challenge.
“You have to cover a lot more bags and cutoffs,” Rocha said. It is different than at first, where, “you just kind of stay at your base.”
Rocha plays second if standout pitcher Lorissa Scott is in the circle, which is usually the case. When not in the pitching rotation, Scott plays second and Rocha moves to third.
An added benefit of learning different positions it that Rocha can show college recruiters “I can play everywhere.”
Medrano believes Rocha can reach the next level and that second base “would be her best option. She’s good defensively.”
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Meanwhile, Rocha continues to rip the cover off the ball at the plate, batting .422 with four home runs so far this season.
“I always knew she had the pop in her,” Medrano said about Rocha finding power in her swing. “This year, she’s really focused on using her hips to drive through the ball, using her hips as power.”
Rocha admits the newly-discovered power, after not blasting any home runs last season, is “hard mentally because I’ll be catching myself trying to hit for the fences and striking out a couple times, but I’m getting better at it.”
The success of Rocha on the field comes despite heartbreak off it. Before the beginning of the season, Rocha’s father was tragically killed. It wasn’t easy putting the cleats back on, but the Eagles have been, “really supportive,” according to Rocha.
“A lot of them stayed at my house after it happened,” she said. “They would stay with me, bring me whatever I needed.”
Now, Rocha plays not only for BHS but for her father.
“He would want me to play still, so I try to honor him,” Rocha said.
If things aren’t going well on the softball field, Rocha admits it, “makes me feel like I disappointed him a little bit,” but ultimately, “I just think he’d be proud of me.”
