The softball team (11-5, 5-3 Peninsula Athletic league) defeated Mountain View (8-9 overall, 5-1 Santa Clara Valley Athletic League) with a final score of 6-3 to win their sixth game in a row.
After neither team got anyone on base in the first inning, freshman Iris Nai hit a double, batting in two runners and bringing the score to 2-1 at the end of the second inning. Sophomore third baseman Makaila Tuakoi then hit a home run in the 5th inning.
“This was one of my best games,” Tuakoi said. “I was 3 for 3, and I got a home run.”
Sophomore center fielder Shannon Galliano played a great game both offensively and defensively. In the 4th inning, she recorded two outs, one of which was a diving catch, to retire the Spartans. In addition, Galliano, who was at the top of the lineup, hit a double in the 4th inning, recording an RBI.
Junior Holly Fletcher pitched all seven innings, striking out 14 batters while only walking one and giving up just two earned runs.
“I think I played good today,” Fletcher said. “We could have given up less hits.”
Keeping a steady lead throughout the game, the Dons ended the game strong with a double play in the 6th inning and a scoreless seventh.
“They played fantastic,” Miller said. “We are really on a roll.”
The softball team started with two victories in non-conference games against Gunn (4-7) on Feb. 21 and Terra Nova (4-5) on Feb. 27, before losing two conference games in a row.
“We lost to San Mateo [3-2 on March 29],” said senior Jennifer Dixon. “But it was really close the whole time.”
However, Dixon is hopeful that the team is on the rise.
“I think all we need is a bit of momentum,” she said. “Then we’ll get going.”
Since the beginning of April, the team has had two solid league wins against Burlingame (6-9).
With several games a week during the final month, the team continues to focus on improving its skills.
“[We work on] mostly mechanics and fundamentals in practice,” said senior Mary Mirt.
Dixon agrees that the focus in practice is on technique.
“We are drilling the simple stuff,” Dixon said. “We sometimes do live pitching instead of just soft toss, and we use the cages.”
For underclassmen, hitting seems to be a major area of focus.
“We mainly do a lot of hitting in practice,” said sophomore Siulolovao Folau.
In general, the team practices five days a week after school, but with recent rainy weather, several games have been rescheduled and some practices have been cancelled.
“We have a lot of games [now] due to [cancelled games because of] the rain,” Nai said. “So we’re playing three games a week.”
A new adjustment for the team this season has been the new head coach Roger Miller.
“It took a while for us to adjust to him, and for him to adjust to us,” Folau said. “But we’re doing good now.”
While he is new to the varsity team, Miller is not new to coaching softball.
“He coached here before,” Dixon said. “I think he was assistant for JV maybe five or six years ago.”
In addition, he has coached other teams in the community.
“I know him because he coached me when I was little,” Dixon said.
Miller wants the team to communicate, in addition to improving their skills.
“Communication is a big part of the game,” Dixon said. “We’re a good team with good players.”
