Cervantez to showcase talents for college coaches

Sophomore Autumn Cervantez burst onto the Oxford Varsity softball scene as a freshman last year.
Now she gets to feature her talent to numerous collegiate coaches at the Queens of Diamonds Showcase North at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio on January 8-9, 2011.
Cervantez heard about the showcase through some of her teammates and coaches on her summerball team, Queens of Diamonds 16U Elite out of Milan, MI.
‘A few of my teammates went there last year and a college coach sent some information to me,? she said.
Queen of Diamond Showcase began in 1993 and has attracted high schoolers from all over the United States and Canada.
Universities attending the event come from various parts of the country and represent schools from division one, division two, division three, National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, National Junior College Atheleric Association and National Christian College Athletic Association.
According to Cervantez, she had to go through a couple of rounds of applications before she found out she was selected to participate in the showcase.
Athletes are selected based on many criteria including ability, potential, academics, grad year, coaches? requests and referrals.
She credits the traveling team with helping her improve her game.
‘There are a lot of good players and they push you to get better,? she said.
While on the softball field, Cervantez spends a majority of her time catching, but also sees action at shortstop and as a utility player.