Estancia product still swinging for fences

Kim Voisard is a baseball player. She used to be a softball player and a good one, but then she played in a baseball game and things changed. The slower pace of the game, the camaraderie it built; it was baseball, it was different and she could not go back.

So, just like all baseball players with a passion for the game, when her name was called, she was ready.

Voisard was formerly Kim Braatz, who starred in softball at Estancia High before moving on to Saddleback College, where she played her way into the California Community College Sports Hall of Fame before moving on to the University of New Mexico to be an All-American.

But now her country needed her to play baseball for the women’s national team in the World Cup.

Voisard had not played baseball on a regular basis since leading the team to a gold medal in the 2004 World Cup, when she was named a tournament All-Star.

She made herself ready. Voisard, who turned 37 in July, made the move back to her favorite position, center field. She played right field in 2004.

Center field is a position that fits more than her skills; it fits her personality. In center, she can be a coach, lead the outfield while making sure teammates on either side of her are enjoying themselves.

For the tournament, held in Taipei City, Chinese Taipei, Voisard hit .389 and once again earned All-Star honors while helping the U.S. win gold.

She went seven for 18 in six games with three doubles, one triple, four RBIs and six runs. Against Cuba, she was three for four with two doubles and three RBIs. She finished with a .667 slugging percentage.

The Americans finished 5-1 in the seven-team tournament, outscoring opponents by a combined margin of 51-23.

While the six other teams in the competition all trained for an extended period of time, the U.S. team only practiced together for a month. But Voisard said the short preparation time made the outcome even sweeter.

“Striving for that goal in such a short time draws you closer together,” she said. “We were like one big family.”

This year’s team was a little closer than the one in 2004. First-time manager Julie Croteau, with players ages 15 to 39, made a point to room older players with younger players in order to form one cohesive unit.

“Both groups had a lot to learn from each other,” Croteau said. “I knew I’d either be a big hero or a big jerk. It would give the veteran players some youthful excitement and it would give the younger players a chance to learn from the best.”

Croteau knows firsthand who the best women’s baseball players are. She, as well as Voisard, played a year with the Colorado Silver Bullets, a women’s baseball team that played against men’s teams.

Croteau knew all about what the experiences Voisard and the other 30-somethings on the team could offer.

“She is definitely a great player-coach,” Croteau said of Voisard.

As a player, Voisard had the ability to bond on a different level than a manager could. She taught younger players the nuances of a game new to many of them. She kept a motherly eye on girls in a foreign country.

“You can impart things on these young players because they are on the field together and they are in my room,” Voisard said.

And she shared personal baseball stories, like being the first woman baseball player to hit an outside-of-the-park home run as a member of the Silver Bullets in 1996.

“As an athlete, it made it worthwhile because I hit it off a good pitcher, a smart pitcher,” Voisard said.

The story also circulated throughout the team about how in the same year Voisard charged the mound in a baseball game. As the player on the Silver Bullets who read the team’s bible studies, it was out of character for Voisard. But, as a woman with a sense of humor, she was able to take some good-natured ribbing.

“They drop their funny comments,” Voisard said.

Team USA lost its tournament opener, 5-2, to Canada. But it rebounded with five straight wins, including a 13-11, come-from-behind victory over Japan, which had to settle for the silver medal.

Canada won the bronze.

“For the older players, this could be our last hurrah,” Voisard said. “The young players said ‘No, you have to come back in two years.’ ”

And Voisard thinks she’ll be back. She’s going to join a baseball league in Phoenix where she lives.

She enjoyed playing again, the feeling of being in game shape. She wants to be ready if she is called upon again.