As the softball season begins, the team is starting out on a much stronger note than they have in previous seasons.
“We’re more ahead where we are now compared to where we have been in previous years,” senior outfielder Briana Bowker said.
Bowker thinks the team is more prepared because they have many returning players and feel more cohesive as a team.
This season, softball will be coached for the first time in several years by Joe Medeiros. According to junior shortstop Amanda Le, Medeiros previously coached the team deep into CCS.
“[Medeiros] was part of the coaching staff when the softball team went to CCS finals in 2005,” Le said. “He is a great guy who knows a lot about softball and has a lot that he can teach us.”
Sophomore pitcher Analisa Ruff agreed with Le.
“I’ve heard he is a really good coach, and he has a daughter who plays softball in college,” Ruff said. “He really knows what he’s doing and he cares a lot about the team.
This season, the team aims to move up into a higher league.
“Our weaknesses are mainly just skill levels, we just need to practice and work better as a team,” Ruff said. “Right now we are in the lowest league, the El Camino League, so hopefully, if we win this year, we get to move up into the next league.”
Ruff is confident that the team has the potential to make it into the next league.
“I think we have a lot of strong players and a lot of passion on the team. Everyone was out there and working really hard, and I just think that it’s going to be a really good season,” Ruff said.
Bowker also has high hopes for the performance of the team this season.
“I think that we could do pretty well this year. Depending on if we go to CCS or not, we could [move up a league], but it’s too soon to tell,” Bowker said.