Entering the season, Brownsville Veterans Memorial needed to fill the shoes of four-year starting catcher Harley Morales. The Lady Chargers found their solution in freshman catcher Natalie Mendoza.
Mendoza took the bull by the horns, showing leadership beyond her years and providing a steady bat at the top of the Lady Chargers’ order.
Mendoza batted .371 at the plate with 30 RBIs, 34 runs and 33 hits including four homers in 2019. With her strong freshman campaign, Mendoza was named The Brownsville Herald’s 2019 All-Metro Softball Newcomer of the Year.
“Coach (Rayner) Cardenas texted my dad and told him the news that I won newcomer of the year,” Mendoza said. “My dad then told me the news and I was just filled with excitement, and I immediately praised God because all the glory goes to him.”
Mendoza not only filled in on offense but had to jump up to speed with senior Mia Anzaldua. While the freshman had a front-row seat to Anzaldua’s record-breaking year, Mendoza was right there directing the traffic and showed no signs of youth.
Behind the dish, Mendoza recorded 328 putouts and finished with a .997 fielding percentage, both team-highs.
“I had been working hard for this all year. I thank God and my family for pushing me to get there.” Mendoza said.
With the season in the rearview mirror, Mendoza took the time to look back on her season and reflect. Mendoza was a part of a special group of Lady Chargers, who won a district title and bi-district game, and went toe-to-toe with eventual state semifinalist Corpus Christi Calallen in the area round.
“This year was amazing, and for me just being a freshman is amazing,” Mendoza said. “Coming in as a freshman, I knew that the varsity level was a different pace of play, so on and off the field I was always working and going home and getting that extra rep because I knew someone out there was getting that extra rep, so I needed just one more. Coming in I didn’t expect to play as well as I did. I worked hard, yes, but this was just amazing for me to come through for my team.”
