Source: www.ocregister.com --- Tuesday, May 30, 2017
Before every game, Cal State Fullerton infielder Sahid Valenzuela tells himself, “ponte perro,” the same words his father, Hector, whispered to him before his games growing up. Be tough, be a grinder. Let’s go, get after it. Valenzuela, a 5-foot-9 rookie for the playoff-bound Titans, has been named to the initial watch list for the Brooks Wallace Award, awarded to the country’s best shortstop. Maybe it’s because he’s batting .344, ranking fourth in the Big West Conference. Maybe it’s because he’s racked up a team-leading 21 multi-hit games. Maybe it’s because he’s collected knocks in 33 of his last 39 games — 18 of those being multi-hit outings. Or maybe it’s because he scratched and clawed for most of his life just to get to this point. “He’s got the heart of a lion, that kid,” said Alejandro Rivera, his uncle. “He’s the most humble person in the world, but he’s also going to let you know, ‘You gotta respect me.’” “You play hard,” Rivera said, “but he’s going to play harder.” Valenzuela and his teammates start post-season play Thursday when No. 17 Cal State Fullerton, 34-21, plays BYU, 37-19, in an NCAA Regional game at No. 10 Stanford. Stanford plays Sacramento State in Thursday’s second game in the regional competition. Sahid Valenzuela is one of the top contributors for Titans Baseball this season (Photo courtesy of Matt Brown/Cal State Fullerton) First RBI Valenzuela got his first start against UNLV on Feb. 25. Sure, he h ...
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