The Heart of America Fastpitch League (HFL) is excited to spotlight Isabella Villarreal as the March Junior Player of the Month. Villarreal is a pitcher, 1^st baseman and outfielder on Arkansas Thunder.

Villarreal has a great month on both offense and defense. At the plate Villarreal posted an impressive .469 batting average with a 1.297 OPS, 7 singes, 6 doubles, 1 triple and 1 home run with 14 runs batted in. In the circle, the 2029 went 4-2 with 76 strikeouts.

“Bella, I want to start off by saying thank you for your dedication, hard work, and more importantly the support you have for your teammates on and off the field,” said head coach Lesley Forsberg. “Your competitiveness and desire to achieve great things in your softball careers will continue to be driving forces for many years to come. If you only knew the way you have moved others to strive for greatness, the memories you have given to your teammates and to your families and friends. Take a moment to reflect on the hard work and the things you have achieved and be proud because you deserve it.

Success in athletics is measured in many ways. One is easy to see, it includes state championships, rivalry wins, world titles and all the rings on display. This success isn’t what defines you, Bella. What defines you is another measure of success, that is harder to count, but much more important — it is recorded on the scoresheet of what you are becoming. This will never be taken from you. Your training, your teammates and coaches and the dedication to your sport have changed you.  They have made you a young woman of character who stand ready to make a difference in the world. Hold on to that. What you are becoming is our greatest win.

As I conclude my reflection of you Bella, you represent your team and the sport of softball with amazing grace, respect and pride. Your dedication to your craft through the years I have been able to coach you have been the driving forces for so many young athletes to follow in your footsteps. As a coach I cannot say thank you enough for all of your hard work and dedication to the sport we love so much. You have elevated your game and the games of those around you and made the competition fun and the process extremely worthwhile. I thank you for your contributions to this great game of softball. I look forward to many more years of on and off the field! Keep up the hard work and always stay humble and kind! Congrats Bella on being selected player of the month!!! You deserve it!!!!!”

“My teammates call me Bells,” said Villarreal. “I’m 11 years old. I’m on Thunder 11. I got started playing softball by playing t-ball, and started at 6 years old in Sinton, TX. My favorite memory of playing softball is when I hit my first ever grand slam at 11 years old. That was the first time I had ever hit the ball over the fence!  I celebrated that moment and will never forget it with my teammates. Seeing everybody so happy for me made me feel special and proud. That’s what makes me work so hard in practice. I love my teammates and coaches and I will never forget that day!”

From all of us at the Alliance and the HFL, congratulations to Isabella Villarreal for her achievements.

What is the Alliance Fastpitch Player Recognition Program?

The Player Recognition Program was built to recognize and spotlight our individual players in each Member League. Each month, registered Alliance Fastpitch coaches can nominate a player from their age division. League Leadership will review nominations and a monthly stats report from AthletesGoLive (AGL) to determine the League’s Player of the Month.

Following the announcement of each League’s Players of the Month, the Alliance Fastpitch will recognize a National Player of the Month.

To be considered for Player of the Month, your team must score League games in AGL so your stats will be included in the League’s monthly report.