Herrera puts on encore performance

San Benito pitcher JoAnn Herrera came into the 2008 season determined to put on an encore performance.
Her '07 season as a freshman was phenomenal, earning her Valley Morning Star Newcomer of the Year honors.
So she had to follow it up and follow it up big.
Good thing she did just that.
In fact, she did a whole lot more, including leading her team to the 5A regional semifinals.
For her extraordinary efforts, Herrera garnered the 2008 VMS All-Valley Most Valuable Player honor.
"I knew that people expected a lot from me since this was my second year," Herrera said. "I wanted to prove to people that I could help take the team further than the previous year."
Like San Benito coach Elias Martinez said, as the super sophomore went, so did the Lady 'Hounds as a team.
So naturally, they went pretty far.
"We told her that there was no sneaking up on anybody this year," Martinez said. "And she did a great job. She still dominated."
A special season
For the year, Herrera went 26-7 overall, racking up 214 strikeouts and giving up only 44 walks. She also allowed only 63 runs, or 1.9 per game, and 93 hits, or about 2.8 hits per outing.
In addition, she fired six no-hitters (one in the playoffs) and five games of one-hit ball.
Perhaps more impressive was when times were crucial, Herrera was at her best.
"Before the playoffs, we spoke and she put the team on her shoulders and said ‘We're not gonna lose,'" Martinez said.
For the first four games, they didn't.
Against Harlingen in bi-district, Herrera no-hit the Lady Cards in a 1-0 victory for the one-game series win.
The next round against Eagle Pass, Herrera pitched wonderfully to help the Lady 'Hounds sweep, 2-1 and 9-1.
"In the clutch, she really stepped up her game big-time. The one-run games and no-hitter are even bigger in the postseason," Martinez said. "She's just gonna give it all she has. She just refuses to lose. That attitude was a big reason we had the season we had."
If that wasn't enough, Herrera outdueled all-everything pitcher Roxanne Rodriguez of PSJA North as San Benito prevailed 3-2 in their regional quarterfinal.
"When the playoffs started, I really did need to step up my game," she said. "Last year we lost in the second round, but knowing that I wanted to go further than what we did last year motivated me."
She also had three special reasons she wanted to keep the season going.
"We had three seniors on our team (Blanche Treviño, Sadie Sanchez and Itchy Sauceda) and I knew that I had to step up big for them," she said. "I knew that they wanted to keep going and I didn't want the season to end, either. We just couldn't lose. I wanted to keep playing for the seniors and the rest of the team."
Though the ride ended in the Sweet 16 to Austin Bowie, which once again reached the state tournament, the seniors had to have been pleased.
Growing up
Naturally, any player will see a maturation process as they get older.
Herrera is no exception, her coach said.
Though she was on a young team, she was not the youngest player anymore; hence, she needed to take on a new role.
And she flourished in it.
"She really matured a lot this season," Martinez said. "That maturity and her work ethic really made things turn out great for us."
As San Benito had only the three seniors on the roster, Herrera's role was that much more magnified each time they took the field.
"With the youth that we had, we were able to do more things because of her play," Martinez said. "She's a team player. It's always team first and then her."
Her approach can be seen when she pitches. Simply put, she's all business.
"I focus on the game, and everything around me just blanks out," Herrera said. "I'm in my zone and I don't worry about anything else around me but the batter.
"But I know that my defense would be there to help me."
With a run to the fourth round of the playoffs, perhaps the groundwork has been laid for Herrera's final two seasons to go even further.
"It gives us something to shoot for," she said. "We're expecting a lot more, and I really hope we can go further than we did this year."