Norfolk State University Athletics

2014 (Senior Year): Named to the preseason All-MEAC second-team at catcher … Ended up playing most of the season in right field … Competed in 40 games with 33 starts, including 28 in right field, four at catcher and one at designated player … Hit .229 on the year with 10 runs, 22 hits, four doubles, seven RBI and four walks … Ranked 49^th in the nation in toughest-to-strikeout at once every 19.2 at bats … Finished her career fourth all-time at NSU in games played (188), fifth in starts (177) and at bats (528), sixth in sacrifices (20) and ninth in hits (150) … Had five games with two hits, including back-to-back contests against Hampton on May 3 … Hit 4-for-7 with two doubles and two RBI in the doubleheader … Went 2-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI in game 2 against Howard on March 31 … Hit 2-for-4 with an RBI against Wagner on Feb. 22 … Also had a 2-for-3 day in game 2 at Longwood on April 22 … Hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth to give NSU a walk-off, 4-3 win over North Carolina Central on April 26 … Had a hit in five straight games from March 2-9 … Also hit 7-for-16 in five games from April 22-May 3.
 
2013 (Junior Year): Competed in 51 games and started 50 of the team’s 53 overall games this year at catcher … Batted .327 on the year and scored 22 runs on 49 hits … Had nine doubles, one triple, one home run, 29 RBI and 13 walks while fielding .989 behind the plate … Threw out 21-of-64 would-be base stealers (32.8 percent) … Finished third on the team in both doubles and RBI … Had 14 multiple-hit games on the year and six games with at least two or more RBI … Hit .361 with runners in scoring position and upped that to .376 with runners on base … Hit her first and only career homer in game 1 against Delaware State on April 20, a solo shot to win the game leading off the bottom of the eighth … Also had a game-winning hit May 10 against Florida A&M in the MEAC tournament, hitting a two-run, walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh to keep NSU alive in the tournament … Finished 8-for-21 in the tournament with five RBI … Went 2-for-3 and tied her career high with four RBI against Marist on March 3, including hitting the eventual game-winning single in the top of the seventh … In a sweep of North Carolina A&T on March 13, hit 5-for-8 with three runs and two RBI … Had a 3-for-4 game with two RBI in the second contest against Coppin State on March 23 … Also posted three hits in game 1 at North Carolina Central on April 16, finishing the doubleheader 5-for-9 with three RBI … Batted 9-for-15 with three runs and three RBI in five games on the season against Hampton, plating the eventual winning run with a single in the fifth in a 5-2 victory on May 5 … Had back-to-back two-hit games against Hartford and Villanova on March 16 and 17 … Over the last 20 games of the season batted 24-for-61 (.393).
 
2012 (Sophomore Year): Made 46 starts at catcher on the year and appeared in all 49 games behind the plate … Hit .255 on the season, posting 37 hits in a team-leading 145 at bats … Scored 21 runs and added five doubles, one triple, 14 RBI and eight walks … Struck out just three times all year and stood fifth in the nation with a strikeout every 48.3 at bats … Made just two errors behind the plate for a .991 fielding percentage … Had a team-leading eight sacrifice hits, tied for fourth in the MEAC … Had nine multiple-hit games on the year and had the second-longest hitting streak on the team at nine … Batted 24-for-66 (.364) over the last 19 games of the season, including 13-for-30 (.433) during her nine-game hitting streak … Also tied for the team lead with five multi-RBI games … Batted 3-for-4 with a run scored and two RBI April 7 during a 4-2 win at UMES … Hit a combined 4-for-11 with four runs and six RBI during the three-game sweep of the Hawks … Knocked in a career-high four runs during a 2-for-4 performance April 14 in a 15-2 win over Morgan State … Added two RBI in Game 1 of that doubleheader as part of a 5-for-10 performance during the three-game sweep … Had three hits in four at bats with two runs scored against Army on Feb. 25, an 8-0 win, and also added three hits May 5 during a 4-0 victory over Hampton … Went 2-for-4 with two runs scored in Game 2 against Howard on April 25.
 
2011 (Freshman Year): An All-MEAC second-team performer … By the beginning of the season, was the only true catcher on the roster … Competed in and started all 48 games behind the plate … Showed her durability by catching every single inning on the season … Tabbed the MEAC Rookie of the Week on March 16 … Batted .307 with 24 runs, 42 hits, two doubles, 15 RBI, six walks and just four strikeouts … Ranked seventh in the nation in toughest-to-strikeout, fanning once every 34.3 at bats … Finished tied for second in the MEAC with seven sacrifice bunts … Earned the team’s Top Defensive Player Award … Threw out slightly more than 21 percent of base stealers (14-of-55) … Had a .978 fielding percentage with just six errors in 268 chances … Batted .341 (15-for-44) with runners in scoring position … Had her best game of the year against North Carolina Central on Feb. 19, batting 3-for-3 with three runs and three RBI in Game 2 of a doubleheader … Hit the game-winning sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth for a 4-3 win over South Carolina State on April 16 in Game 2 of a DH … Had two hits each against Delaware and St. Francis (PA) on March 12 … Finished the season with 10 multiple-hit games … Knocked in two runs in Game 1 of a DH against South Carolina State on April 16 and against in Game 2 of a DH at North Carolina Central on May 7 … Also scored two runs against Hampton on March 24 in Game 1 and at UMES on April 27 in the first game of a DH.
 
High School: Competed for four years on the varsity softball team … Earned first-team All-Mt. Baldy League honors freshman and junior years … Named to the second team sophomore and senior seasons … Three-time Golden Glove Award winner freshman through junior years … Scholar-Athlete Award winner freshman season.
 
Club: Competed with the California Lite 18 Gold travel team coached by Pam Newton and Vic Stewart … Helped squad take first place at the Worth Women’s Tournament in Corona, Calif., and third at the Champions Cup in Irvine, Calif. … California Lite also took sixth at The Premiere/ESPN Rise Tournament in Huntington Beach, Calif.
 
Personal: Full name is Katherine Danielle Cortez … Often goes by the nickname Kat … Born on Feb. 27, 1992 … Daughter of Julia Cortez … Has one younger brother, James … Majoring in psychology … Wants to eventually get into coaching … Enjoys reading and listening to music.