Lauren Ceballos / Sports Editor

      USD senior Amanda Limon, “2 short” or “shorty” tied the women’s softball record of having a 14-game hitting streak, while wearing the number two on the field.

      Limon was not keeping track of her hitting streak and stumbled on the accomplishment unexpectedly.

      “I honestly had no idea that I was reaching that milestone. I was just going game by game… But I just didn’t even try to think about it too much going into  games,” Limon said.

   Limon explained her tactic to reach this milestone and how her philosophy is to not put too much pressure on herself.

     “[My mindset]  was  always  just playing free: playing with no care. I guess not really caring whether or not it [tying the record] does happen. I kept a neutral mindset and was just going into it [games]… I am so grateful for getting to reach that milestone [even though] I didn’t even know that was happening,” Limon explained.

    Limon  learned  to tackle this neutral mindset last winter, reading a book called “Getting Neutral.” The rest of her team is on the same wavelength, after reading another book by the  same author. Throughout her years of softball experience, Limon came to understand that by simply playing to play, the positives and negatives of a game can be endured by the love of the sport itself. These books helped teach her the importance of this mindset.

 Limon  explained  more details about the book.

    “It    takes    what    it    takes,  and it’s all about getting to this neutral   mindset. Where you’re not so focused on negative emotions and not so focused on positive emotions, just letting things happen. Things [will] play out and not letting pressure affect you too much,” Limon expressed. 

  Limon shared why she plays softball and who she plays it for.

  “Every time I step on the field I kind of just think about who I want to ‘play for’… I’m going on here to play for the little girl inside me that has fun.” 

    Limon   continued,   “Having fun growing up on softball every single day, playing  loose, thinking about her or just thinking about every single little girl, every single little softball player that looks up to us in general, and just playing for them and seeing how it would feel being in their shoes or how it was being in their shoes,” Limon explained.

  Her  Catholic  faith  also plays a big role in her life.

      “Sometimes  it’s just like playing all for God, owing it all to him… I have that on my glove, ‘It’s all for him.’ And I think like at the end of the day, that’s who I owe it all to after every single opportunity I’ve had and after all the accomplishments I’ve reached, and then of course, like I always keep family and loved ones in the back of my mind because I wouldn’t be where I am without them,” Limon expanded.

   Along     with      her     family, something that helps Limon on her softball journey is  the  support  of  her coaches.

 “Having coaches that are just strong women… And emphasize being strong women and creating strong women. And it’s nice that we get to look up to players that once were in the shoes that we were in, and coaches that support us so much,” Limon said.

    Limon described how she views the sport of softball as a whole.

  “It’s a game of failure. So I think I’ve just learned so much resilience, so much adaptability and just going with the flow. I think playing softball… it’s taught me so many different little life lessons that I didn’t even think that it would teach me,” Limon shared. 

   Limon is a psychology major and Spanish minor. She grew up in Covina, CA, attending Charter Oak High School and started her athletic career by playing baseball. Limon’s older  brother, cousins, dad  and  uncle all played baseball and growing up they would all play together. This allowed for an even stronger connection to the sport for Limon.

   “Baseball [and] softball was just kind of integrated into my family, and my grandpa grew up going to Mexico to play baseball. So I grew up watching my dad and my grandpa play when I was very young. That’s when they saw my ability to play,” Limon explained. “My dad definitely had the biggest influence on my baseball softball career because that’s what he grew up knowing, so he just kind of put [the influence of softball] on me as well,” Limon expanded. 

   Limon’s   family    roots   in softball and baseball mean a lot to her during her final season.

    “I’d   see   my   older   brother play and my older cousins play. I just looked up to them as a young athlete and it was just such an awesome experience to be immersed in the sport of baseball and kind of learn from my dad and grandpa’s experiences and my mentors,” Limon said.

     Limon   takes   on  her  final season with the milestone of tying the record of a 14 hitting streak and looks forward to her final games on Torero turf.

Limon is called “Shorty” on the field and “2short,” alluding to her jersey number. Photo courtesy of @usdsoftball/Instagram