Toro Softball Team Has Rolled With the Punches : Colleges: Although she was recruited to play basketball, hard-hitting Melissa Punch has been quite a catch for the squad.

Cal State Dominguez Hills basketball Coach Van Girard thought he was getting a forward when he recruited Melissa Punch of Culver City High. Instead he found a first baseman for the softball team.

Punch started for the basketball team as a freshman, then decided to try out for the softball team. She ended up batting a school-record .398, including a 21-game hitting streak that is third longest in NCAA Division II history.

She hasn’t played another basketball game for the Toros since.

The 23-year-old senior did not have anything against playing basketball.

“It was going well, except that I wasn’t really happy playing basketball anymore,” she said. “A lot of it was that Coach Girard instilled a family atmosphere around the team and the players were supposed to do everything together. . . . I didn’t feel I had time to do both, and I really liked playing softball. That’s why I chose softball over basketball.

“It was a lot more work to play basketball, so I guess I took the easy way out.”

Girard carries no grudge.

“It was strictly her decision not to come back after her freshman season,” he said. “It was her feeling that she wasn’t ready to come out again and play at such an intensity level. We wanted her back, but she decided that softball was what she wanted to focus on.”

Punch was initially recruited by former Toro softball Coach Janis Ruetz before she decided to accept a basketball scholarship.

After having her average slip to .289 as a sophomore, Punch broke her school record by batting .402 last season, including a game against UC San Diego in which she set the NCAA record with three triples.

She is on pace to break her record again with a .455 average that ranks among the Division II leaders this season.

Punch credits her success to a change in her mental approach.

“A goal that I had was not to pressure myself and just to have fun. . . . A lot of times last year, I felt like I was the one who needed to come up with the big hit all of the time, even though we had some other good hitters,” she said. “So this year, I just didn’t want to pressure myself as much and have more fun.”

Punch’s difficulty as a sophomore was partly due to a shoulder injury she suffered during a tournament at Cal State Hayward. She had to undergo reconstructive surgery.

“It happened in the middle of the season and I couldn’t throw after that,” she said. “I ended up playing designated hitter the rest of the way and had surgery over the summer.”

Her doctor told her the recuperation period would extend into her junior season, but she made a rapid recovery.

“The doctor said I’d have to redshirt and as it turned out, I came back sooner than expected,” Punch said. “I started out the season playing designated hitter and then, later in the season, I got to play in the field.”

First-year Dominguez Hills Coach Estela Gutierrez said Punch has prospered this season despite a knee injury.

“She had knee problems at the beginning of the season and we were thinking of using her just as a designated hitter,” Gutierrez said. “We told her she’d have to work her way through it and she has responded very well. She’s had times when she’s been out there and you could tell she was in some pain. I could see it in her face at times, but she’s shown us that she’s able to play with pain.”

There is a chance that Punch will play rejoin the basketball team next season. She has a year of eligibility remaining.

Girard would welcome her back.

“I’ve seen her play in the gym and she still has a nice (shooting) touch and can take the ball to the basket well,” he said. “She has been an asset to our program in the past and we would love to have her back.”

Does Punch want to return to the basketball next season?

“I haven’t really thought about it that seriously yet,” she said. “I still like playing basketball and that’s what got me here in the first place.”