Morton’s Analiya Feliciano sets high standards for herself.
Although the freshman shortstop didn’t know what to expect in her debut with the Governors, she knew she wasn’t going to settle for anything.
“I know I have potential, and I can do better, so I’m really hard on myself,” Feliciano said.
“When I came in, I was a little bit nervous because I was the freshman on the team. I had no experience with a high school team. But now that I’m on the team, I’m super comfortable with the girls. So I’m just doing my thing. I’m just showing all of my skills and talent.”
And how.
Feliciano was hitting .718 with seven doubles, two triples, three homers, 21 RBIs, 32 runs scored and 29 stolen bases, topping the team in each category, before Great Lakes Athletic Conference champion Morton (9-5, 3-0) played Griffith on Tuesday.
Feliciano has impressed veteran coach Lisa Owens-Korba, who is in her first season leading the Governors after two as an assistant.
“She’s a great kid,” Owens-Korba said. “She’s also a straight-A student. She’s fantastic all around. She’s supportive of everybody on the team. She’s the one who makes sure everybody is up. She keeps on them, makes sure they’re part of it, working. She takes everything as if it’s a game situation. When we’re out here practicing, she never goes half at anything.
“She very much takes a leadership role on our team. She’s very much the first person to say, ‘Let’s do this, let’s do that,’ without having to be tapped. It’s big to step up when you’re 14, 15 years old.”
Feliciano tends to meet hurdles head on. She was asked about Morton playing perennial power Crown Point in a Class 4A Crown Point Sectional opener next week.
“It’s OK,” she said. “I like the competition.”
Feliciano also played volleyball for the Governors.
“It was way different from middle school volleyball, way more competitive,” she said. “But I like the challenge.”
Owens-Korba hasn’t been too surprised by Feliciano’s performance.
“I had heard good things about her, and then I saw her at volleyball games, so I knew she was highly athletic,” Owens-Korba said. “Her reputation does her justice. She’s fantastic.”
Feliciano credits her older sister Angelyna Lopez, a former standout for the Governors who graduated in 2023, for helping pave the way.
“She got me into softball because she played before me,” Feliciano said. “She brought out my love for the game. Watching her made me determined to play.”
Feliciano hasn’t looked back.
“Softball is my sport,” she said. “I’ve been playing since I was 7 years old. I work to improve every day. It’s fun playing the game.
“It’s about having a positive mindset. I always have a good attitude. I’m always willing to play wherever. I don’t care where I’m put. I just live for softball, so as long as I’m on the field, working hard, that’s all that matters.”
Feliciano also helps coach her younger sister’s team, and her father Angel Feliciano is in his first season as an assistant with the Governors.
“Softball is life in our household,” Angel Feliciano said. “Ball is life. All year round, not a week off.”
Morton junior pitcher Ei’lani Herrera sees the fruits of Analiya Feliciano’s labors.
“She’s a great player, talented, all of the above,” Herrera said. “What she’s doing as a freshman, that’s really amazing.”
Feliciano plans to keep moving forward.
“If people don’t know if they want to keep doing a sport or not, just keep it up,” she said. “In the end, you never know what results you’re going to get. You should just keep trying no matter what. A little work pays off a whole lot.
“I never thought I’d be super great at softball when I started when I was 7. But now that I’m here, I feel great.”
