Pinole Valley's Kailani Tatro is SBLive's 2023 North Coast Section Player of the Year

To call Kailani Tatro the “center point” of Pinole Valley’s North Coast Section Division 3 softball title would be accurate both literally and figuratively.

It would also be quite obvious.

The dynamic 5-foot-4 senior pitched almost every inning of every game not just during the 2023 season but her entire four-year career, which was interrupted the first two seasons by the pandemic.

Otherwise, when Tatro fielded a comebacker and threw to first baseman Milanya Rosales for the final out of a 6-1 win over Encinal-Alameda at Diablo Valley College, the Spartans (29-2) might have been celebrating a second or third championship.

Either way, the moment brought loads of emotion, filled with hugs, tears and utter joy. A painful 3-1 semifinal upset loss the previous year to San Rafael contributed to emotions. So did the hardships caused by the pandemic.

And so did the fact that Tatro was one of six seniors who went through this journey together. Along with her dad Jason, the head coach.

Tatro, a Robert Morris-Pittsburgh signee, finished off a remarkable four years with a 29-2 record that featured a 0.77 ERA and 277 strikeouts.

In all she powered through 529 career innings over 87 games, winning 74 and compiling a 1.34 ERA with 783 strikeouts and 393 hits allowed and 93 walks.

At the plate, she put up gaudy hitting numbers (.538 average, 49 hits, 22 doubles, four homers and 41 RBI), to finish off her career with 149 hits in 277 career at-bats with 73 runs, 130 RBI, 53 doubles, four triples and 12 home runs.

The title was fourth in school history for the Spartans, but first since 2009. In leading Pinole Valley’s revival, Tatro is the 2023 SBLive North Coast Section Player of the Year.

SACRIFICES, MEMORIES MADE

After the final out, she made a beeline and embraced shortstop Melina Mendoza, a teammate and pal since the seventh grade while playing travel ball.

“Emotions were flying everywhere,” Tatro said. “Happy emotions. I remember trying to keep my composure to make sure we got the final out. But after that there was hugging and jumping and running around. We all put so much into softball. There’s so many sacrifices we make and so many memories made.”

Doesn’t Jason Tatro know it.

He was an assistant coach for the team under his best friend Victor Sample, and took over the program in 2020. He tutored his daughter when she first picked up a softball at age 4. At 6, she was a pitcher. Jason built a mound in the back yard and bought a bucket to sit on while he played catcher.

A former basketball and baseball standout at Pinole Valley, Contra Costa College and San Francisco State, Jason experienced the benefits of organized athletics himself and wanted to pass it to his daughter. The amount of pitches he caught is countless, he said, the memories, priceless.

“It’s been some of the best times of my life,” he said, his voice cracking slightly. “Of course we had our struggles. There’s been bickering and fighting, but all of it is worth it. She worked her butt off.”

He noted that Kailani isn’t the hardest thrower — she tops out at 58-61 mph — but she’s mastered how to spin and locate. “Everyone at the next level can hit the high speed fastball,” Jason said. “She’s the Greg Maddux of softball. She just wins.”

Dad, of course, helped her master all her pitches — the change, curve, rise and drop balls.

“He got me into softball and he’s been there every step of the way,” Keilani said. “He’s been my catcher since day one. Thinking of all the sacrifices he made for me, all the places I’ve ever been and now I get to go to college, it makes me emotional. I can’t thank him enough.”

DREAMING BIG

She’s had other pitching coaches to thank along the way. Her senior teammates — Mendoza, Rosales, catcher Aneesa Brewer, infielder Eliana Lerma, and outfielder Vanessa Castaneda — have also been constants, on and off the field.

Her pitching idol — former Mitty and Oklahoma standout Keilani Ricketts — gave her a dream to shoot for.

“We spell our names a little differently, but I always felt connected to her,” she said. “She was so inspiring. I always fantasized about being as good as her.”

But it was Kailani’s dad — a project manager at Contra Costa Electric — who put her in a position to dream and succeed. The rest, he said, was up to Kailani.

“She’s not the best athlete, but she outworked everyone,” Jason Tatro said.

A 3.8 student, Kailani said winning awards and even championships is secondary to what the game has taught her.

“Learning how to win, learning from failures, making so many new friends — softball and pitching has made me the person I am,” she said. “It’s what I love. It’s made me a better person.”

PINOLE VALLEY KABOOM

It’s going to be a big leap going cross country to play in Pittsburgh at Robert Morris. Both dad and Kailani got great energy from the school, region, campus and third-year head coach Vexx Varner who just led the Colonials to their third straight winning season after five straight losing campaigns.

“I’m so excited to get there and play,” Kailani said. “It wasn’t an easy choice because I’m a big family person and it’s so far from home. But it was the best choice for me. The softball program. A great coach. Great academics. And I’ll be able to pitch and hit there.”

She goes in with a load of momentum. She won postseason awards from the San Francisco Chronicle and West Coast Preps as well. More than that was Pinole Valley’s overall athletic success over her senior season. The football team won a state championship. The basketball teams flourished as well as many others.

It was capped off with the softball team’s championship season.

“I think we exceeded so many people’s expectations,” she said. “I think our school is sometimes seen as the underdog. But we hung up a lot of banners this season. It was a great athletic year. We went out with a bang.”