Cortez Breaking Records With Strength and Courage
March 27, 2017 | Softball, #ForBoston Files
On the field and off, BC's Ruthian slugger is teaching lessons in leadership.
In the top of the second inning of Saturday's Boston College-Pittsburgh softball game, Tatiana Cortez strode the plate as she'd done so many times in her four-year career. Acutely aware of who she was facing, Panther pitcher Brittany Knight delivered two pitches well outside. With a 2-0 count, she intended to keep the third pitch out away from Cortez, where she couldn't drive it.
Knight missed.
Cortez drove it, as she'd done 41 other times in her career. It was true and it was long gone. As she rounded the bases, it never dawned on her what had happened. After the game, though, when she was told, she became aware of what she had accomplished.
She had become Boston College's softball version of Babe Ruth, slugging more home runs in her career than anyone else in history.
"The first couple of pitches were just out over the outside corner," she recalled afterwards. "The inside pitch is my home-run pitch. But that third pitch just hung a little bit too much, and as soon as I swung and hit it, I knew it was gone. It didn't click that it was a record, but after the game, when I was told, I said, 'Wow this is pretty awesome.'"
For Cortez, it was another in a line of record shattering. Having already broken the single-season slugging percentage last season with a .768 mark, she tied the single-game RBI record with seven runs driven in against Penn on March 8. Her 150 RBIs (and counting) are already a program record, now adding the home run record to her resume.
"I didn't think anyone would break the home run record," head coach Ashley Obrest said. "When Tory Speer broke it in 2014, I didn't think anyone would ever break it, especially when I sat back and saw how hard she worked. She really turned it up her junior and senior year, but I never thought it would be broken, and then Tatiana comes along, and you see she's a good hitter, but you never ask yourself if she would've broken the record."
It's a journey that began when Obrest first noticed Cortez. Now in her sixth season as head coach, Cortez was the first player she recruited at The Heights. Having watched her develop over four years, Obrest knew she had a key cog in the lineup from the start.
"As a coach, I don't necessarily get caught up in (records)," Obrest said. "So when I see her hit .300 and drive in runs, I'm happy. But she's really grown and bought into being a Boston College softball player. She's set leadership goals to get this program to an NCAA Regional and she wants her teammates to hop onto her lead.
"She has a good swing, and she knows how to pick out pitches," she continued. "When you have someone who is a good hitter, other teams will know not to throw anything she's going to hit. So Tatiana had to learn how to hit pitches that weren't strikes. So knowing that, she's still hitting and hitting home runs and driving in runs. That's all a credit to her approach to hitting. We'll get back from a game or a series and she's already texting asking when she can start hitting again."
It's an approach that's culminated in a spectacular senior season. Hitting .329 after the Pitt series, Cortez has five multi-hit games and has steadily risen her average over the last month. She's been over .300 for the past eight games.
"I wanted to start the season on a high note," Cortez said. "I've usually started a season rocky, get into a little slump, and then pull out of it. This year, starting the season in my hometown in Houston, I wanted to start strong and stay strong. I wanted to avoid the slump, so I started playing every game like it was my last game."
"She had good hand-eye coordination at the plate," Obrest said. "She can stay on a ball really quick. Her eyes watch the ball the whole way, and she can see the ball all the way onto the bat. Plus she benches a whole lot, which doesn't hurt."
That she's hitting records is a testament to her character on the field. But it's off the field where it proves just how strong Tatiana Cortez really is. The month of March began unspeakably; her father, Ronny Cortez, a longtime Houston police officer, was shot on the job by an armed suspect. Though facing the possibility of never walking again, he survived and is starting his long road of recovery.
"When something goes bad, I have always had softball," Cortez said. "It's always been my outlet and a chance to leave everything else outside. It's been tougher this year, so I have to have to a strong mentality."
"She knows life will be different, but she knows her dad will be okay," Obrest said. "She is able to talk to her dad and not just have to look at him in pictures. She has been so mature this year, and with everything that's happened, she's been more mature than anyone I've ever coached. She's worried about her family - about her mother and her brothers. Tatiana ends every conversation saying that she knows her dad will walk again. I know she wants to make her dad proud."
As Cortez leads the way, the Eagles continue pursuing their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2003 and first since joining the ACC.
"Our expectation as a team is to get better," the slugger said. "We need to keep playing how we've been playing, and we have to keep it going in the midweek games, which are just as important to us because they could impact our seeding. I've always tried to lead teammates, and I'm making sure I hold myself to a higher standard. I want to remain positive for my teammates because I want to make sure that I can be the backbone for this team."
Knight missed.
Cortez drove it, as she'd done 41 other times in her career. It was true and it was long gone. As she rounded the bases, it never dawned on her what had happened. After the game, though, when she was told, she became aware of what she had accomplished.
She had become Boston College's softball version of Babe Ruth, slugging more home runs in her career than anyone else in history.
"The first couple of pitches were just out over the outside corner," she recalled afterwards. "The inside pitch is my home-run pitch. But that third pitch just hung a little bit too much, and as soon as I swung and hit it, I knew it was gone. It didn't click that it was a record, but after the game, when I was told, I said, 'Wow this is pretty awesome.'"
For Cortez, it was another in a line of record shattering. Having already broken the single-season slugging percentage last season with a .768 mark, she tied the single-game RBI record with seven runs driven in against Penn on March 8. Her 150 RBIs (and counting) are already a program record, now adding the home run record to her resume.
"I didn't think anyone would break the home run record," head coach Ashley Obrest said. "When Tory Speer broke it in 2014, I didn't think anyone would ever break it, especially when I sat back and saw how hard she worked. She really turned it up her junior and senior year, but I never thought it would be broken, and then Tatiana comes along, and you see she's a good hitter, but you never ask yourself if she would've broken the record."
It's a journey that began when Obrest first noticed Cortez. Now in her sixth season as head coach, Cortez was the first player she recruited at The Heights. Having watched her develop over four years, Obrest knew she had a key cog in the lineup from the start.
"As a coach, I don't necessarily get caught up in (records)," Obrest said. "So when I see her hit .300 and drive in runs, I'm happy. But she's really grown and bought into being a Boston College softball player. She's set leadership goals to get this program to an NCAA Regional and she wants her teammates to hop onto her lead.
"She has a good swing, and she knows how to pick out pitches," she continued. "When you have someone who is a good hitter, other teams will know not to throw anything she's going to hit. So Tatiana had to learn how to hit pitches that weren't strikes. So knowing that, she's still hitting and hitting home runs and driving in runs. That's all a credit to her approach to hitting. We'll get back from a game or a series and she's already texting asking when she can start hitting again."
It's an approach that's culminated in a spectacular senior season. Hitting .329 after the Pitt series, Cortez has five multi-hit games and has steadily risen her average over the last month. She's been over .300 for the past eight games.
"I wanted to start the season on a high note," Cortez said. "I've usually started a season rocky, get into a little slump, and then pull out of it. This year, starting the season in my hometown in Houston, I wanted to start strong and stay strong. I wanted to avoid the slump, so I started playing every game like it was my last game."
"She had good hand-eye coordination at the plate," Obrest said. "She can stay on a ball really quick. Her eyes watch the ball the whole way, and she can see the ball all the way onto the bat. Plus she benches a whole lot, which doesn't hurt."
That she's hitting records is a testament to her character on the field. But it's off the field where it proves just how strong Tatiana Cortez really is. The month of March began unspeakably; her father, Ronny Cortez, a longtime Houston police officer, was shot on the job by an armed suspect. Though facing the possibility of never walking again, he survived and is starting his long road of recovery.
"When something goes bad, I have always had softball," Cortez said. "It's always been my outlet and a chance to leave everything else outside. It's been tougher this year, so I have to have to a strong mentality."
"She knows life will be different, but she knows her dad will be okay," Obrest said. "She is able to talk to her dad and not just have to look at him in pictures. She has been so mature this year, and with everything that's happened, she's been more mature than anyone I've ever coached. She's worried about her family - about her mother and her brothers. Tatiana ends every conversation saying that she knows her dad will walk again. I know she wants to make her dad proud."
As Cortez leads the way, the Eagles continue pursuing their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2003 and first since joining the ACC.
"Our expectation as a team is to get better," the slugger said. "We need to keep playing how we've been playing, and we have to keep it going in the midweek games, which are just as important to us because they could impact our seeding. I've always tried to lead teammates, and I'm making sure I hold myself to a higher standard. I want to remain positive for my teammates because I want to make sure that I can be the backbone for this team."
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