Eagles Rios’ extends family’s diamond legacy
It has been nearly four years since Estancia High junior Felicia Rios hit the first home run of her career.
It came in baseball, not softball, as a 12-year-old for the Costa Mesa National Little League All-Stars. Felicia’s family played a big part that day, with her father Francisco (“Cisco”) and grandpa Frank coaching the team and her older brother Tyler watching the game.
Tyler was surprised at the time that Felicia could leave the yard.
Felicia, now 16, has already doubled that home run total this year for the Estancia softball team. She hit one in a 9-1 win over rival Costa Mesa on March 14, then another one in a 16-13 triumph against Santiago three days later.
Tyler’s reaction this time was different.
“He wasn’t really surprised,” Felicia Rios said. “He was actually kind of waiting for them.”
Tyler, the 2013 Newport-Mesa Dream Team Baseball Player of the Year who now plays for Orange Coast College, has worked on hitting with his little sister. She credits his guidance for much of her improvement.
“He helps me, tells me what I need to do and where my hands need to be,” Felicia Rios said. “It’s good. We get competitive with each other. It’s fun messing around with him.”
But Felicia, the Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week, certainly isn’t messing around during games. Don’t judge the shortstop by her 5-foot-3 stature, judge her by her numbers.
They are stellar for the Eagles (7-3). Rios, a co-captain along with senior first baseman Karina Camarena, is batting .419 with a team-best seven extra-base hits. She has two doubles and a team-best three triples.
As a three-year starter at shortstop, what Rios also has is something more important. She has the respect of her teammates.
Estancia Coach Carrie Lester recalled how she wanted Camarena, a four-year varsity player, to be a team captain this season.
“I asked her if she wanted someone else,” Lester said. “She said that Felicia definitely should be a captain. I asked [Rios], and she was excited about it. I think it’s good for her to be in a leadership role. This is a good thing, for her to see that she’s very important to the team.”
Last year, Rios could maybe get by as a sophomore on a senior-dominated team, though she still hit .406 on her way to first-team All-Orange Coast League and Newport-Mesa Dream Team selections. This year, though, she is a leader as one of five returning starters.
“It’s big,” Rios said. “I mean, I feel like I have to be a role model to the team. I feel like it’s going really great. We have a great group of girls that are willing to learn, and are happy to be out here.”
The Eagles have other players who also can mash. Rios is one of six players hitting better than .400, the others being senior Lesly Gomez (.583), junior Maya Van Den Heever (.467), senior Gianna Guyot (.452), junior Nefertiti Van Den Heever (.438) and freshman Kalena Shepard (.419).
Rios usually hits No. 2 in the lineup. She also provides good leadership in other ways, Lester said.
“I think Felicia’s a good balance between having fun and being serious,” Lester said. “Maya and Nefertiti are such fun girls. They definitely keep the energy up, but Felicia is good for balance. And I have never seen her be too hard on any of the other players.”
The Rios family spends a lot of time on the diamond. Cisco played baseball at Estancia, while Frank played minor league baseball in the White Sox organization in the 1960s and also played in Mexico. Felicia’s mother, Mia Moreno, played soccer.
“She was a freshman on varsity here at Estancia; captain too,” Felicia Rios said. “She always wanted me to play soccer, but dad said, ‘No, you’re playing softball.’”
The decision seems to have paid off, as Felicia now said she wants to play softball in college. The key to her success at the plate is focus, she said.
“This is like my getaway spot,” she said. “I try not to think about other stuff.”
Rios said her team goal this year is for the Eagles to make the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division 5 playoffs, after losing in the wild-card round two years ago when she was a freshman. Last year, the Eagles beat Calabasas Viewpoint, 3-2, in a home wild-card game but then lost on the road at Montebello Schurr, 9-1, in the first round.
Orange Coast League play should be challenging, with defending champion Calvary Chapel usually dominant. Godinez edged Estancia in two league games last year, 1-0 and 2-0, to claim second and bump the Eagles to third.
If Estancia can move up, Rios will help it get there.
Don’t be surprised if she hits another home run while she’s at it.
Twitter: @mjszabo
