Girls softball continues astonishing record; ‘strikes out’ all opponents

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Unstoppable.

That would pretty much define the offense of the girls softball team these past weeks.

They have put up double digit runs in five out of their past six games. On top of that, their pitching has been lights out, recording three shutouts over that same amount of time, even forcing some opponents into the mercy rule.

This all started with a pair of wins in a double-header on April 8. The first game was a 5-1 victory over Vista. Junior Alix Johnson got three hits and sophomore Breana Williams came away victorious, pitching a complete game. Reminiscent of their first game against Vista, the girls jumped on the board early with runs in the first two innings.

Sophomore Alyssa Abrenica believes getting an early lead is essential to a team’s success.

“Our team’s greatest strength is that we usually start off strong with runs in the early innings,” Abrenica said. “And even if we don’t, we never give up or get flustered.”

In the second game of that day’s double-header, the girls picked up an easy 10-0 win over Mission Bay. Once again, they made a statement early in the game, jumping off with seven runs scored in the first two innings. Abrenica was the winning pitcher, allowing only one hit in the entire game. Junior Kellie Fox got two runs, three RBIs, and a triple. Junior Ashley Romano showed her quick instinct with three stolen bases in the game.

Williams says the team’s mood is very relaxed, despite the very lofty expectations that were set even before the season started.

“All the girls get along very well,” Williams said. “Everybody has a big personality and it’s just a fun environment. The coaches [Cesar and Ruby Chavez] continue to influence and encourage us to work hard.”

The team continued their impressive performance with an astonishing 13-0 shutout over Valley Center on April 14. The girls pushed all 13 runs across the plate in the first three innings. Johnson got three runs on three hits with three RBIs. Additionally, sophomore Nikki Barba, senior Maggie Doremus, and Fox all got multiple hits in the game. Williams and Abrenica combined for nine strikeouts and pitched a no-hitter.

In perhaps their most dominating performance of the year, the girls win in a lopsided match against Oceanside, 22-1 on April 16. Doremus and Johnson led the offensive pouring, combining for eight hits, and eight RBIs. For the record, 11 different players contributed to a season-high 21 hits in the game. Williams and Abrenica considers this their most memorable game so far as they combined for a dozen strikeouts.

On April 21, the team’s next victim was San Marcos. The girls hammered them and breezed to a 10-0 win. A three run first inning and a seven run fourth inning put a crooked number that San Marcos could never even come close to making up. Johnson picked up three more RBIs on three hits, including a double and Williams pitched a complete game and got the win.

Williams says the team prepared for their rivalry match against Westview by continuing to stay focused and stick to their game plan.

On Tuesday, the girls clobbered rival Westview 15-1. The outcome was never in doubt after the third inning, when MC was already up 12-0. With this win, the girls have put up an unbelievable 70 runs over just the past five games.

Their next game will be against Ramona, a team they beat 15-6 back on Mar. 31.

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