South grad Banuelos earns JUCO softball All-American honors

Jun. 26—Esmeralda Banuelos has never been one to waste an opportunity.

Knowing it was going to be tough to get high-level looks, Banuelos, a 2020 South High graduate and aspiring Division I softball pitcher, took it upon herself to get in front of college coaches in the summer of 2019.

Heading into her senior year of high school and without a team to travel with, Banuelos relied on her mother to transport her to a string of summer showcases in Fresno and Clovis, where her performance in the pitching circle caught the attention of Dan Pearson, the tournament director of Superior Showcase Softball.

This encounter proved particularly fortuitous. Though the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out the high school and travel seasons in 2020, Banuelos had already impressed coaches from Southwestern Oregon Community College, who brought her along for the 2021 season.

As soon as she arrived on the Coos Bay campus, Banuelos immediately set out to show she belonged.

"I feel like I've always had something to prove to show that I'm capable of what my coaches believe I'm capable of and what I think I'm capable of," she said. "I'm always trying to prove to myself that I can be the best I can be."

That is a goal Banuelos believes was accomplished during her freshman year with the Lakers.

In 21 appearances (16 starts), she finished with a record of 13-2, the best mark in the Northwest Athletic Conference. She had 75 strikeouts, nine complete games and a 4.00 ERA for an excellent Laker team that finished the year 30-4.

This was enough to earn Banuelos recognition by the National Fastpich Coaches Association, which last week selected her as a 2021 All-American.

"This is such a big thing for me personally," she said. "I come from a very low-income family. And trying to get to the very specific level I'm trying to get to, this is the perfect thing to happen. I want to play Division I ... that's the goal I've been setting for myself since my freshman year of high school. This is the perfect step for me to get there."

Though the D-I offers haven't come rolling in yet, Banuelos says she's had productive talks with coaches from Humboldt State, a Division II program out of Arcata that would return her to her home state.

Regardless of where she ends up, there remains work to do in the junior college ranks, as she intends to return to Southwestern Oregon in 2022, still eager to prove her worth to current and future coaches.

"I just want to be stronger mentally and smarter about the game," she said. "I've learned a lot this season and grown a lot mentally and emotionally. And I think that I can get even stronger, put in more work, get even faster pitching."