Aragon’s softball team (2-1 overall)* shut out Notre Dame Belmont (2-3 overall)* 14-1 on March 5.
Going into the game, the Dons started the first inning with lots of energy and were able to shut out the Tigers 7-0.
During the second inning, Notre Dame committed two interferences by colliding in between bases with the Dons’ sophomore shortstop Megan Grant, resulting in two outs for the Tigers. The Dons lead off the third inning with a 10-0 score and held that score until the fourth inning with a triple by junior second baseman and outfielder Katie Marin.
“We focused on certain hitters in their lineup, and we shut them down,” said head coach Bill Laskey. “They only had, I think, three hits.”
The team had effective pitching and hitting throughout the game.
“Our girls are swinging the bat extremely well. You know, extra base hits,” Laskey said. “And that is the plus with this team to score some runs and had our two pitchers shut them down. So that’s really what happened today and we’ll keep doing that.”
The Dons are starting off their 2020 season coming out of their first Central Coast Section win in the 2019 season. They finished off their 2019 season with an 22-6 overall record and a 10-4 Peninsula Bay League record.
With the recruitment of new coach Liz Rosco, the team has had to make some adjustments. But with the success of last season, players’ goals are set for a repeat CCS championship. The team held a 0.340 batting average and a slugging average of 0.551. Sophomore catcher Olivia DiNardo held the highest batting average with 0.557.
Rosco has been upping the pressure in practices in preparation for a tough season. During practices, they have been focusing on hitting and strengthening the team’s defense after the loss of four crucial senior players last season including pitcher Holly Fletcher.
“We lost some key players last year, but we have new players to fill those positions,” DiNardo said.
New team members will have to step up to the plate. The team has added several new promising players to varsity this year, including freshmen third baseman Brooklyn Blake and pitcher Brooke Tran.
The Dons will have fierce competition in the upcoming season with teams like St. Francis (0-0 overall)* and San Mateo (3-1 overall)*.
“[Our toughest competition is] going to be St. Francis because they were in the CCS playoffs and in one division above us,” said senior outfielder Elisa Jee. “We lost by one point last year so hopefully we can beat them this year.”
The team’s next game will be on March 17 at Homestead (2-0 overall)*.
*records as of March 9
