Coming off a 6-6 third place finish last year, the varsity softball looked to improve both collectively and individually this year. 

 The team was made up of senior captain Maya Gomez; juniors Samantha Ortiz, and Izabelle Ramirez; and sophomores Jasmine Estrada (captain), Chloe Henry, Brytlee G. Fernandez, Carmelina Esquivias, and Kahlissta Peña. As for the newcomers, sophomore – Jazmine Rubio; freshmen Madison Mendoza, Mia Peña, and Mianicole Frias. 

This spring, the Trojan ladies finished 8-4 in league, which again landed them in 3rd place in their division.  Coach John Nieto said, “I think overall we played well. We started with one senior, two juniors, and the rest were freshmen and sophomores. So, I do think that our performance for being such a young team was okay.”

Nieto felt if a few breaks had gone their way, they could have made the playoffs. “When we played Soledad we had some issues with our pitcher as she was gone and Maya didn’t have her gear, so she couldn’t catch when we played against the best team in our division,” Nieto said.

Although they missed the playoffs, the team felt that this season allowed them to learn about the new things that could be applied for the next season. “As a team I feel like we just need to work on working together a bit more and actually taking things seriously,” Izabelle Ramirez said, “because the games we lost we definitely could have won.” 

The team finished on a high note with the senior night home game against Seaside, winning 15-1. “Even though we were up by a lot, I liked that when I was up the team was cheering me on,” Carmelina Esquivias said. “You could always hear at least one person say your name and you’re like yes I got this. Their vibes come off and get on you and you feel like you can do it.” 

Madison Mendoza had several instances that stood out for her. “I have made multiple diving plays and I think that is my favorite highlight of the season,” she said. “Team wise I think we did pretty good, but I do feel we could have done better.” Mendoza feels if the team puts in the time in the off season, they will be even better next season.