The Tucson Salpointe Lancers softball team finished the regular season 25-6 and will most likely earn the top seed in the Division II playoffs but that is just part of the bigger story.

There are times when we have to take a look at the parts of the machine to see how the whole thing works and, in this case, we only need to take a look at senior first base standout Avriana Jimenez.

Batting a respectable .311 with three homeruns, Jimenez may not jump off the stat sheet but she does where it counts the most.

Jimenez gave up on club ball during her sophomore year so she could help take care of her mother Vero Jimenez. Dreams of a college scholarship gave way to saving her mother who was dealing with both Lupus and a major stroke and then she suffered another stroke. And, when her mom was released from the hospital, her father Edgar suffered a stroke also.

In a world where few athletic dreams come true, reality must turn to those who gave you life. Dreams, tears, sweat and love.

"She gave it all up to help her mother and, when her mother was recovering from one stroke, she suffered another stroke," explained head coach Amy Rocha.

"Avri obviously had bigger things on her plate than softball."

Defying the odds of getting recognized by a college without playing year-round on a club team, Jimenez decided to transform herself into being the best high school player she could be and she turned to Salpointe strength coach Carla Garrett.

"Avri came to me as part of the softball team and she was as out of shape as everyone else," Garrett explained. "I am very demanding and, to be honest, I didn’t think she would make it past the first week but she kept coming and coming."

A former Olympian, Garrett knows what it takes to get to the next level and she feels this year's softball team has the chemistry it takes to succeed and Jimenez is a part of that.

"There is a lot more to weightlifting than training," Garrett added. "I feel a special bond with the softball team and I think Avri didn't expect anything from herself and she was surprised that I expected more from her than she did."

"I feel Carla transformed her mentally and physically," Rocha said. "She was named team captain and was actually fighting for a starting spot."

Many people feel fate controls life and perhaps some of that was in the making for Jimenez. Can honest sacrifices and good deeds be rewarded in real life?

Benedictine University at Mesa will field a softball team for the first time next spring and first-year coach Jon Malgradi is busy building a roster. He was interested in a different player at Salpointe according to Rocha but, when he discovered the player he was looking at was already taken, Rocha asked him to take a chance on Jimenez. 

"He took a look at her and fell in love with her swing," Rocha said.

With her mom still not fully recovered physically, Jimenez took a chance of her own and made a visit to Mesa to see the program for herself a couple of weeks ago. Mesa is not too far away after all.

I've been told Vero was heartbroken for what her daughter had to give up for her. What mom wouldn't be?

There will be a simple college signing ceremony Friday night after practice. Jimenez will be sitting at a table next to her mom and there will be an offer sheet from Benedictine waiting for her signature.

Her dream will come true and it will be a great early Mother's Day present.