Both are first-team All-Americans, and both received the same number of votes to fill the honorary captain role for The World-Herald’s All-NAIA baseball team.
So Bellevue catcher Osvaldo Gonzalez and Peru State shortstop Randy Santiesteban, both seniors from the Miami area, will share the honor.
They took different routes to their senior year. Gonzalez played for Western Nebraska and Appalachian State before landing at Bellevue his senior year, rejoining a couple of his former Cougar teammates.
“Sometimes you don’t have major impact guys that are only here for a year,” Bellevue coach Duane Monlux said. “The numbers he put up for our offense were very legitimate. He was a great team guy, a fun personality and a gold glove catcher.”
The Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference player of the year led the No. 16 Bruins (46-15) with a .418 batting average, 29 doubles, 16 home runs, 65 RBIs and a .779 slugging percentage. Those 29 doubles were tops in the NAIA. He had a .997 fielding percentage.
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In one game against Midland, he went 4 for 4 with four doubles. He piled up 20 RBIs in a week and earned national player of the week honors.
“He’s just a very, very good player,” Monlux said. “He hit for power, he hit for average and he got on base.”
Gonzalez is already playing for the Florence Freedom in the Frontier League.
“He’s got his foot in the door,” Monlux said.
Santiesteban played all four years for Peru after coach Wayne Albury spotted him at an open tryout in Miami.
He excelled on defense and offense, as a leader and in the classroom. He was the program’s first first-team All-American.
“I wasn’t expecting him to be a shortstop as a freshman but the rest is history,” Albury said.
Santiesteban ranked eighth in the NAIA in batting average (.431) and 16th in slugging percentage (.723). In his 84 hits, he had 20 doubles and 11 home runs and 48 RBIs. He was 11 of 14 on steal attempts.
Santiesteban was chosen as the MVP of the Heart of America tournament. That and a regular-season title enabled the Bobcats (39-16) to reach the NAIA tourney for the first time since 2012.
Albury said Santiesteban always seemed to come up with a big hit.
“He’s just good in every aspect of the game,” Albury said. “He’s had good years, but this year he really put it all together.”
Contact the writer:
402-444-1034, marjie.ducey@owh.com