KING CITY — King City High softball standout Lisa Villanueva and her Lady Mustangs have been playing plenty of softball games this summer as members of the South County Lobos.
Villanueva, the 15-year-old daughter of Mac and Heidi Villanueva, has also attended softball camps at the University of California at Berkeley and the University of California at Los Angeles.
The soon-to-be sophomore has played third base and in the outfield for the Lobos. As a member of the Aldrete travel team of Paso Robles, she has also seen time at catcher.
“She attended two elite camps in July, with the first one at UC Berkeley and the second one at UCLA,” said Mac Villanueva. “At UCLA, she received instruction by the legend (Lisa) Fernandez, who is an assistant for the Bruins.”
Fernandez served as the lead clinician at the UCLA camp and is a USA Softball Hall of Fame honoree. She also was a three-time Olympian and won three gold medals as a right-handed pitcher and third baseman.
As a freshman, Lisa Villanueva led the Lady Mustangs and the tri-county area in many offensive categories, including homeruns (7), runs batted in (28) and runs scored (27).
Lady Mustangs head coach Artie Carrillo applauded Villanueva’s strong showing at the clinics she attended and her play for the South County Lobos.
“She did good, and it was a really good experience for her,” Carrillo said. “She has come a long way, and there is so much more to come in her years playing and we will be witnesses to greatness.”
Carrillo has been coaching the 18-and-under age group of the Lobos that has traveled to play tournaments in the San Juaquin Valley.
The Lobos have two age groups playing summer ball and are coached by Adrian Trujillo and Jesse Soto. The Lobos have players from King City, Gonzales, Soledad and Greenfield.
Victor Ocampo is the head coach for the Lobos 12-and-up team that also includes players from throughout South Monterey County.
“We will finish up summer league this weekend,” Carrillo said. “By mid-August we will jump into fall ball. The girls are working hard while playing multiple sports during conditioning for either volleyball or basketball, and showing up for softball practices and games in the other valley with 110-plus temperatures. I’m very proud of them.”
