Sashel Palacios

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sashel Palacios
Personal information
Full nameSashel Aitiana Palacios[1]
Born (1995-09-17) September 17, 1995 (age 26)
Chula Vista, California, USA
Height5 ft 3 in (160 cm)[2]
Sport
CountryMexico
SportSoftball
PositionCatcher
College teamArizona State (2014–2017)
Team
Medal record
Women's softball
Representing  Mexico
Central American and Caribbean Games
Silver medal – second place 2018 Barranquilla Team competition

Sashel Aitiana Palacios (born September 9, 1995) is an American softball catcher of Mexican descent. She helped the Mexican national team qualify for the 2020 Summer Olympics and place fourth in the tournament.

Early years[]

Palacios was born on September 9, 1995, in Chula Vista, California.[3] She tried many sports in her childhood, including volleyball, basketball and soccer, but ultimately chose to focus on softball under the tutelage of her father.[4][5]

Palacios attended Otay Ranch High School in Chula Vista, where she was three-time league MVP and batted .523 as a senior in addition to playing travel ball with Team Muzino and the San Diego Renegades. She also lettered in volleyball.[3]

Career[]

College career[]

Palacios played Division I college softball at Arizona State from 2014 to 2017. She initially served as a backup catcher to Amber Freeman, appearing in only eight games as a freshman.[6] She later claimed to have "fell out of love" with the game around this time, even contemplating quitting the team altogether.[7] After spending the summer playing with the Mexican national team, she returned for her second year. As a sophomore, Palacios earned Pac-12 All-Defensive and NFCA All-West Region honors after batting .323 and achieving a .993 fielding percentage.[3] As a senior, she appeared in all 53 games, finishing third on the team in batting average (.322), home runs (10) and RBI (40).[3][8] She was named Pac-12 Player of the Week in late March after recording five home runs, including a walk-off grand slam against Oregon State, and 11 RBI in four games.[9] At the conclusion of the season she earned first-team All-Pac-12 and Pac-12 All-Defensive honors.[10]

Palacios helped the Sun Devils reach the NCAA Tournament all four years, including a trip to the Super Regionals in 2014.[8]

Professional career[]

In November 2017 Palacios signed her first professional contract, a one-year deal with the Chicago Bandits of National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) ahead of the 2018 NPF season.[8]

She spent the following year with the Cleveland Comets, who partnered with the Mexican national team, and hit .217 with 13 RBI during the 2019 NPF season.[11]

In 2020 Palacios took part in the inaugural six-week season of Athletes Unlimited Softball,[4] an upstart experimental league without coaches or owners which changes team rosters weekly via a draft and ranks players on a leaderboard based on their performances.[12] She recorded one home run, five RBI and nine walks, tallying 670 points overall.[2]

International career[]

The summer after Palacios' freshman year at Arizona State, during which she thought about quitting the sport, her father informed her that the Mexican Softball Federation was allowing Mexican-American players to try out for the national team.[7] After some initial hesitation, she began training for the opportunity and eventually earned a spot on the roster.[7] Her first international competition was the 2014 World Cup of Softball in Irvine, California,[13] and she credits the experience for rekindling her love of the game.[14]

Palacios played in the 2017 Canada Cup, where she recorded seven hits, four RBI and a home run in seven games.[1] Later that year she participated in the Pan American Championships, where Mexico finished second and secured a bid to the 2019 Pan American Games.[15] She also won a silver medal with the team at the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games,[15] with their only loss coming in the championship game after extra innings.[16]

Palacios was one of a dozen American-born players included on the Mexican roster for the 2019 Pan American Games.[17] She hit a grand slam in their opening game, a 9–0 victory over the host team ,[18] but they ultimately failed to medal after getting knocked out in the semifinals.

A few weeks after the disappointing Pan American Games campaign, Palacios helped her team achieve a surprise first-place finish at the 2019 WBSC Americas Olympic Qualifier.[19] They defeated the host nation, Canada, by a 2–1 score in the super round to secure Mexico's first ever Olympic berth in softball,[20] a victory which Palacios called the highlight of her career.[21] She scored the game-tying run in the fifth inning after leading off with a single.[6] In preparation for the Olympics, she joined the team for the 2020 Australia Pacific Cup, where they finished third.[6][22]

Personal life[]

Palacios has two younger siblings: her sister Sharlize, who plays softball at Arizona, and her brother Sabian.[5] The two sisters played against each other for the first time in April 2021, when the Mexican national team faced Arizona in an exhibition game.[23]

Her father, Francisco, is a Tijuana native who was born and raised in Mexico.[14] After coming to the United States as a teenager,[24] he became a three-time All-San Diego Section catcher at Castle Park High School before he was selected in the 1992 MLB draft.[5][14] Lacking the financial support to pursue a professional career, he never signed a contract.[24] He did, however, play for the Mexico national baseball team.[6] Her mother, Soida, is a California native with Mexican roots who played softball growing up.[6][14]

Palacios earned her bachelor's degree in family and human development in the spring of 2017 and was named an All-Pac-12 Academic honorable mention.[3] She later returned to Arizona State to pursue her master's in higher and postsecondary education, also taking the opportunity to serve as a graduate assistant coach.[14]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "#13 Sashel Aitiana Palacios - Profile". Pointstreak. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Sashel Palacios". Athletes Unlimited. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Sashel Palacios". Arizona State Athletics. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  4. ^ a b Levine, Amanda (December 1, 2020). "For Sashel Palacios, Diamond Sports Are In Her Blood". Softball America. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  5. ^ a b c Monahan, Terry (March 4, 2019). "Eastlake softball catcher follows her father in finding home behind plate". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  6. ^ a b c d e Metcalfe, Jeff (February 7, 2020). "Former Sun Devils, Wildcats can co-exist, elevating Mexico softball to Olympic berth". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  7. ^ a b c Salas, Marco (June 15, 2021). "More Than a Game For Sun Devil Softball Olympians". Arizona State Sun Devils Athletics. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  8. ^ a b c "Bandits Sign Arizona State Standout Sashel Palacios". National Pro Fastpitch. November 21, 2017. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  9. ^ "Pac-12 Softball Players of the Week for March 28". Pac-12 Conference. March 28, 2017. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  10. ^ "Pac-12 announces 2017 Softball All-Conference honors". Pac-12 Conference. May 15, 2017. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  11. ^ Detwiler, Christopher (August 26, 2020). "Meet the 56 athletes taking the field for Athletes Unlimited's inaugural softball season". Athletes Unlimited. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  12. ^ Baccellieri, Emma (February 26, 2021). "Welcome to the Grand Softball Experiment". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  13. ^ "Team USA in title hunt". Orange County Register. July 12, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  14. ^ a b c d e Rodriguez, Laura (July 20, 2018). "Meet the Mexican-American between the Chicago Bandits and the Mexico Women's National Softball Team". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  15. ^ a b "Sashel Palacios". Mexican Softball Federation. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  16. ^ Sievers, Chez (March 28, 2019). "Cleveland Comets Announce Partnership With Team Mexico For 2019 NPF Season". Flo Softball. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  17. ^ Gomez, Eric (August 8, 2019). "U.S.-born softball players keep Olympic hopes alive playing for Mexico at Pan American Games". ESPN. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  18. ^ "Canada, USA remain undefeated in Lima 2019 Women's Softball event". World Baseball Softball Confederation. August 6, 2019. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  19. ^ "Catcher Sashel Palacios proud Mexico qualified for Olympic softball for first time in history". World Baseball Softball Confederation. April 15, 2021. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  20. ^ Palmer, Dan (August 31, 2019). "Mexico beat hosts Canada to qualify for Tokyo 2020 Olympic softball tournament". Inside the Games. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  21. ^ Woldegebriel, Yodit (September 16, 2019). "Three former ASU softball players to represent Mexico in 2020 Olympics". Arizona Sports. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  22. ^ "2020 Australia Pacific Cup". Softball Australia. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  23. ^ McKelvey, John (April 10, 2021). "Arizona-Mexico exhibition provides special moment for Palacios sisters". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  24. ^ a b Mendelsohn, Peter (July 22, 2020). "Sashel Palacios embraces her body and Mexican heritage on the diamond". Athletes Unlimited. Retrieved July 12, 2021.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""