Metea Valley’s Genevieve Gonzales celebrated the fulfillment of a yearlong goal before the DuPage Valley Conference Tournament championship game on Thursday.
A unanimous all-conference pick, the senior shortstop posed for a photo with the other honorees at Northern Illinois University’s Mary M. Bell Field. Gonzales was an honorable mention in the conference last year even though she made the Class 4A all-state third team.
“It motivated me quite a bit,” she said. “I had a few top stats last year, and looking at that, I was a bit frustrated. But it did motivate me a lot.”
Gonzales worked hard during the offseason and was rewarded for it this week. She then put the final touches on her DVC resume with a double, a triple and two RBIs as the Mustangs beat Naperville Central 6-2 to win the tournament for the first time.
Metea Valley junior pitcher Charlie Benesh yielded back-to-back solo home runs to Riley Silvers and Jamie Saran in the top of the seventh but closed the door on the Redhawks.
“I was pretty excited,” Gonzales said. “Today was a fun day overall. We all came into this game with a lot of motivation, the last conference game for the seniors.”
Naperville Central coach Andy Nussbaum praised Gonzales and the Mustangs, who won three of the four meetings between the teams this season.
“This is the best they’ve played against us,” Nussbaum said. “They hit the ball hard and made some outstanding defensive plays. I thought we played good. They just beat us.
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“Gonzales is a good hitter. They came to hit and hit the ball hard. Hats off to them.”
Gonzales, a four-year varsity player who is planning to attend DePaul, raised her batting average to a team-high .510. She also leads the Mustangs (16-12) with 52 hits, 15 doubles and 39 RBIs, and she has scored 32 runs.
Metea Valley coach Michaela Paprota said Gonzales was driven to succeed this season.
“I think she had more confidence and maturity,” Paprota. “I think there was a little bit of a disappointment last year in honorable-mention DVC. That drove her to be all-conference. We had conversations last year. That made her work even harder.”
Gonzales has provided a spark from the third spot in the order and has been a leader in the infield, according to Paprota.
“She’s always looking for the next way to make adjustments and pick her teammates up and be selfless,” Paprota said. “She stepped into some roles that made her uncomfortable but embraced them.”
Metea Valley senior center fielder Reese Valha, a Parkside commit who hit two triples against the Redhawks (19-15) and prevented two runs with a stellar catch by the fence in the sixth inning, agreed with Paprota.
“She’s a great teammate and a leader, and in the four years I’ve been able to see her grow as a person and a player,” Valha said. “It’s been amazing. She’s always picking up her teammates and comes every day with 100% energy and effort.”
Benesh said it’s good to have Gonzales on the field behind her.
“She’s always been one of our strongest defenders, and she’s always been a really consistent person I can rely on,” Benesh said. “She never lets a mistake stick to her and is always able to flush it and move on.”
Gonzales, who comes from a big family that includes three sisters and two brothers, has managed to distinguish herself.
“I’m really the one who plays sports,” she said. “My little brothers are really young, so they’re just starting. My family is really a musical family except for me. All my sisters like to sing.”
But Gonzales doesn’t take all the credit for her success.
“My dad always told me, ‘God has given you a special gift,'” she said.
Bobby Narang is a freelance reporter.