Athlete of the Issue
Diane Ortiz
Annie Sacks, Staff Reporter
asacks@csumb.edu
Softball
Major: Business
Home: Pomona, Ca
Standing on the mound, concentrating on her next move, she looks across home plate at the batter then to her pitcher who signals “there’s a runner on third.” The smell of fresh cut grass permeates the field, she focuses in, the wind up and the pitch…. “strike three” the umpire said, they had won.
Junior transfer Diane Ortiz from Pomona California has made a home at CSU Monterey Bay as an otter. Ortiz showed what kind of player she was while playing at Mt. San Antonio College her freshmen and sophomore years. Her team took home the CCCAA State Championship and she was picked as an All-Conference second team. Now coming to make a home with the Otters, Ortiz has contributed this season to the team’s success at pitching. This season Ortiz was selected first-team honors and Co-Pitcher of the year.
Ortiz business major is still unclear as to what she plans on doing for a career. She has played softball for 11 years and has succeeded in becoming an asset to her teams. She has had her family behind her the whole way for support. “My family has always been very supportive of me playing sports. They are the ones who have helped me become successful,” said Ortiz.
Her favorite color purple, the color of royalty, might describe her on the field, she has shown the diligence to work hard and play even harder. “Diane is a great student-athlete. She works very hard both, on and off the field. Diane possess great leadership qualities and has done very well on the mound for the team,” said Assistant coach Nicole Deatherage.
The 2009-2010 softball team has done well this season. “We won Conference which is a great accomplishment,” said Ortiz. Shecontributed to this success having five shutouts while pitching 13 complete games. She also became a threat at bat as well, with 4 home runs and a .356 batting average. “Diane is a joy to have on the team. Her competitive demeanor helped lead the team to the CCAA Championship. She is though gracious in her triumphs and a true student athlete,” said Head Coach Andrea Kenney.
Walking off the field she enjoys the warm air. Her team had won the conference and now they got to play in Hawaii. It cannot get much better than this she thought.