When ISU softball coach Stacy Gemeinhardt-Cesler came out to answer questions about center fielder Brittany Gomez, she did something she had never done before.

She talked about a player who had represented U.S.A. in international competition playing baseball.

Gomez, a senior infielder/outfielder, was that player.

Gomez had some impressive feats on the softball diamond for Iowa State. She broke the single-season school record for stolen bases and runs scored as a freshman, was named to the All-Big 12 Defensive Team as a junior and the All-Big 12 Second Team three years in a row.

But maybe the most impressive thing she’s done in her storied career is represent the United States in the 2015 Pan American games in Toronto, where she won a gold medal in women’s baseball.

“I was pretty excited,” Gemeinhardt-Cesler said about hearing Gomez made the team. “I thought it was a great opportunity, and she obviously did really well.”

Gomez played in five games for the United States, hitting .267 with three runs, a triple, and four RBIs. She also played a flawless center field with zero errors, five putouts and an assist.

And even though she played well, it was still different from what she was used too.

“Baseball is more mental,” Gomez said. “Softball is really quick all the time, more of a reaction sport.”

The mental part of baseball wasn’t the only transition for Gomez; there was a part of baseball she had never done before.

“The hardest part was leading off [from a base],” Gomez said. “Which shouldn’t be, I feel like, I just didn’t want to leave too early or leave too soon.”

There were other parts of baseball that were tough, Gomez said. Learning the different plane a pitch comes in for baseball compared to softball took some time, and then getting the feel of fielding a baseball off a bat instead of a softball was a change too.

For all these things, she got a little help from some friends.

“Our managers are baseball players on the baseball club,” Gomez said. “So they helped me out a lot, pitching to me and hitting to me.”

It wasn’t just an exciting trip out of the country for Gomez. She also left Toronto with some hardware.

“Winning gold didn’t feel real, even when I got back,” Gomez said. “I still have the medal and it still doesn’t feel real and I don’t know when it will.”

Gemeinhardt-Cesler said the trip was really good for Gomez in preparing her for her senior year. She said it also showed some things for Gomez’s teammates to take notice of.

“Her teammates thought it was really neat,” Gemeinhardt-Cesler said. “She works so hard everyday and she’s such a great role model. It’s just one more thing showing what hard work can do for you.”