Softball triumphs in first round of CCS, falls short in second

May 23, 2013 — by Bruce Lou and Arman Vaziri

Capping an amazing season, the softball team defeated Valley Christian 6-3 in the first round before finally being stopped by Los Altos in a 6-0 defeat.

Capping an amazing season, the softball team defeated Valley Christian 6-3 in the first round before finally being stopped by Los Altos in a 6-0 defeat. 
The team went 13-1 in its regular season, losing only one game against Milpitas. 
Nevertheless, the team was eventually crowned league champions. 
Team members have varying opinions on why the team lost to Los Altos.
“It was a tough game, we could’ve beaten [Los Altos] but it just wasn’t the right day, wasn’t the right time,” sophomore pitcher Analisa Ruff said.
According to team members, the team’s new coach, Joe Medeiros, has been a great asset to the team this year because of his dedication to the individual players and the whole team.
“[The new coaches] were always very dedicated and were always on time and that motivated us to do better,” Ruff said
Most of the girls on the team play club softball, which helped the team prepare for this season. Another reason for the team’s success this season has been their cooperation and ability to work as a team. 
“The team worked more as a family this year, it was really a team where everyone got along pretty well and there wasn’t a lot of grade-level separation, everyone blended really well,” senior outfielder Alyson Nilan-Axline said.
Another reason for the team’s success this year has been the plethora of talent on the team, stretching across all different grade levels.
“Everyone except two people played club softball,” Nilan-Axline said. “That really helped.”
The team is proud of how far they advanced in CCS. 
However, players including Ruff and  Nilan-Axline believe that they still could’ve advanced further. 
“I think that the team has done really well this year,” junior shortstop Mandy Lee said. “I think it is impressive how we have been able to turn the program around in one year.”
The softball team will be losing senior outfielders Brianna Bowker and Nilan-Axline next year to graduation. 
However, the team aims to replicate its success next year despite the loss of its seniors.
“I think this year was very good and next year’s going to be even better,” Ruff said. 
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