Already with a state title and a ring from her freshman season, Veronica Moore’s sophomore campaign was a year to remember. She had lofty goals. After tying the single-season record in RBIs with 46, her goal was to break the overall school record in RBIs. On April 4 against Riverside, Moore was two RBIs away from passing Anabel Mendez, who had 78. Moore was not going to be denied, as she smashed her way to the top of the record books.
In the third inning, the bases were loaded and she had an opportunity to make history with one swing of the bat. Moore was nervous as she stepped into the batter’s box. The pressure and tension was mounting, but the coaches told Moore to let it come naturally. Moore calmed herself down by taking a deep breath, as she reminded herself not to overthink the situation or change her swing.
“In the back of my mind, I was a little bit nervous. I didn’t want to put too much pressure on myself. As I’m up to bat, I can hear my coaches telling me, ‘Just let it happen naturally.’ That’s what I was telling myself at the plate and not to change my mechanics or my mindset at the plate either and that it was going to happen when it was going to happen,” said Moore.
Moore made sure that it did happen, as she did not over swing on a pitch that was left out and over the plate. Moore torched the ball into center field going all the way to the wall, clearing the bases for a three-run RBI double and the record at 80.
While Moore was in tears after reaching second base, the stands and her teammates went crazy as they celebrated the record. Her teammates had Moore’s back the entire game, wanting her to break the record.
“Thankfully, it was that game and my teammates were on. It was perfect, and it couldn’t have been more exciting. I didn’t even know that the bases were loaded. That’s how locked in I was. I know I need to hit the ball. I need to do my job at the end of the day. As I got to second and I saw that there was nobody else on base. I started crying because I think I wanted that goal so bad and then it finally happened,” said Moore. “Everyone was so excited and my teammates who were on base before me, some of them were saying I did that for you. I wanted you to break that record. It was such a great feeling overall.”
Moore was focusing on doing her job, which was to find a hole somewhere and get on base. She was trying not to think about breaking the record, as Moore wanted to do what was needed for the team. Moore knew she was going to break the record, but she was unsure whether it would be on that day and in her second at-bat. Moore did not know at the time who was on base as she was in the batter’s box.
Moore knew how much potential she had as a softball player. She has enjoyed playing softball since she was four years old, watching her mom play softball and her brother play baseball. She was determined to become successful in any way possible and be known to everyone recruiting her for how good of a softball player she is.
“I was four years old and I jumped straight into playing 6U. I’m very competitive, that was my first memory of trying to match them and beat them, which definitely got me to where I am today as a player,” said Moore.
Throughout middle school, she tried different sports, such as basketball and volleyball. Moore did not succeed at the level she wanted to be at, as it was difficult for her to develop and improve. In high school, she decided to stick with one sport and that was softball.
Moore knew how much progress she was making playing softball at the time. Even though it came naturally for her at a young age, Moore had to put in the work like any other athlete in order to become the softball player she wanted to be. Her love for the game is what motivated Moore to have a better mindset and approach to the sport. She kept grinding every practice during middle school, knowing that it would take more than her talent to become a top-tier player.
Moore’s hard work and dedication have led to accolades, such as first team 3C2A all-state and a two-time all Orange Empire Conference first team as well. She came out of the gates strong in her freshman season and tied the school record with Mendez in RBIs with 46. Her goal before the season began was to break the school record in one category, whether it was RBIs, batting average, or home runs.
“It was incredible, coming in before the season, I wrote down all of my goals on a piece of paper and put it on my wall next to my bed and I had written down to break a record. I didn’t know what record I was going to break or what record I was driving for breaking and I didn’t know any of the records beforehand,” said Moore.
Moore’s written goals turned into reality after tying the single-season record in RBIs. She got more than what she asked for when it came to her own accomplishment, as her team brought home a state championship back to Fullerton College as well. During the unveiling of the new softball facility, Moore discussed how she would not trade winning a state championship over playing at a D1 level and experiencing the women’s college world series.
“It’s something that nobody can take away from me. All the hard work, blood, sweat, and tears that we put in as a team last year and it was truly based on love,” said Moore. “We didn’t win a state championship solely based on our talent. Any talented team can really go and compete for a state championship. Knowing that I love each and every one of those girls and that they are still some of my biggest supporters. I wouldn’t trade it for being at a D1 school,” said Moore.
Back in high school, she solely focused on playing softball, hoping that she would play at a D1 level and make an immediate impact. She was not even thinking about attending a Junior College.
Then a junior in high school, Long Beach State came calling and Moore was hoping that would be the answer to being accepted to a four-year university after seeing her friends celebrate with scholarships of their own. Unfortunately, it did not happen, but her travel ball coach, Elise Laws, wanted Moore to apply to different schools at each level, whether it was D1 or community college.
Moore was playing for an 18U travel ball program called the Firecrackers Premiere Rty in the offseason, when she wasn’t playing for her high school team.
Moore wasn’t sure why none of the D1 schools showed interest in her or even offered her a scholarship to a four-year school. She questioned and asked herself whether she was good enough to play at the next level. Her confidence was at an all-time low after seeing her friends receive scholarships to universities while she was left out. Moore was not interested in attending a junior college.
“I knew I wanted to come into college and try to get that scholarship, not really knowing what was ahead of me. I was watching all my friends around me get scholarships and I was like, ‘Wow, what am I not doing? Am I not good enough?’” said Moore. “In high school, I was like, I’m not going to a junior college. There’s just no way, I’m not. My mindset towards junior college was completely different a couple of years ago. I did it because my travel coach said.”
After sending emails to multiple schools, Fullerton College answered and started attending Moore’s high school games. Moore made a good impression with Co-Head Coaches Crystal Aguirre and Marian “Speedy” Mendoza. Aguirre and Mendoza wanted her at Fullerton College. As Moore told the coaches that she was in discussions with Long Beach State, Mendoza was willing to do anything possible to help Moore get accepted into Long Beach State on a scholarship.
“Coach Speedy was helping me try to commit to Long Beach State and it baffled me because I knew how much the coaches wanted me. She was doing everything in her power to help me commit to Long Beach State at the time. My mindset was like ‘Wow, these coaches are trying to help me, but I’m not even in their program. I can only imagine what they’re going to do for me,’” said Moore.
Ultimately, Long Beach State did not find any interest in Moore. They decided to take transfer portal players. Moore decided to commit to Fullerton College Softball in the Fall of 2023. During one of the practices, Aguirre and Mendoza noticed something wasn’t right with Moore during her offseason workouts.
Aguirre and Mendoza did not see the focus and determination that she showed during high school. At times, she doubted herself and wasn’t sure how good of a player she could be. One day after practice, Moore was pulled off to the side by Aguirre and Mendoza in order to build back her confidence and belief in herself.
“Coaches have been such a huge part of my journey here at Fullerton with my confidence. Everyone around me believed in me more than I believed in myself. They pulled me aside and said, ‘You can go wherever you want to go, but the only person stopping you is yourself. You have to believe in yourself. We can believe in you as much as we do, but that’s not going to do anything,’” said Moore.
Moore says that all it took was a little bit of inspiration and having faith in God to turn not only her softball career around, but her life as well. She says she made the decision to turn to God and trust her coaches in putting him first in her life.
Before that, she would pray on occasion, but said she didn’t have full belief or faith in God, and that the softball program had changed her mindset.
“I truly can’t thank them enough, because not only have they changed me as an athlete, but as a person in general. They’ve definitely inspired my walk with God,” Moore said. “Without God my life would be completely different. I can’t thank them enough for how they’ve overall transformed me in my past two years.”
Each time Moore steps up to the plate, she does the sign of the cross and points to the sky. Moore currently has two tattoos along her right arm with Bible verses Philippians 4:13 and Proverbs 3:5-6 and stares at them for reassurance.
School was an issue for Moore at times. She says she would have days when she decided not to finish her homework, but her parents would keep her in line. Moore’s parents wanted her to succeed outside of softball. She says she struggled because the courses did not interest her. She took them in order to meet the general education requirements in high school. Now, she says she’s committed more than ever to her academics as of today, due to her love for softball.
Moore would go on to drive in 11 more runs before ending her two-year career at Fullerton College and raising the RBI record bar to 91.
The relationships she made with her teammates along the way are what Moore says she will miss most about playing softball with the Hornets. For her, a softball program whose foundation is solely based on God is important to her. Moore knows how rare it is to find teammates who care for each other on and off the field.
“That’s going to be something that I’m really going to miss. It’s rare. You’ll have girls who pray and do everything before a game, but to have a team. We pray before and after games, and after practices, we do devotionals as a team. Some of us go to church together and something that’s hard to find,” said Moore.
Moore hopes that someone at the D1 level will be calling, as she plans to continue her softball career. Now, she is more confident than ever before with her teammates and coaches on her side to guide and support Moore on her path to success.
“I do plan on continuing to play and hopefully it will be at the Division 1 level. Hopefully, I will find a home for the next two years where I continue to grow as a person and an athlete,” said Moore.
