On Saturday, March 1, NDB’s Varsity softball team traveled to Watsonville HS to play in a mini tournament in preparation for their season. They played in three games throughout the day, challenging Scotts Valley, South Tahoe and Greenfield.
“I think… that tournament was just a great way for us to, like, bond together, especially because we had a lot of underclassmen come in, and personally I think it was good just to get back into high school softball. There’s a big difference between high school and travel, so it was just a great way to dive into the season,” said junior Skylar Loo.
The Tigers’ first game was against Scotts Valley HS and began at 9:30 a.m. Loo, senior Allison Lui and freshman Stella Hird each recorded a Run Batted In (RBI), while Lui also struck out five opponents. After a hard-fought battle, they emerged victorious, winning with a final score of three to two.
Then, at 1:00 p.m., the team took on South Tahoe HS. The Tigers were able to showcase their hitting ability through this matchup as they won 21 to zero. Hird drove in seven RBIs for the team with junior Hailey Truong and sophomore Caroline Zerella combining to allow just two hits, Truong striking out two and Zerella four.
The team concluded the day with a game against Greenfield HS. The Tigers won 15 to two, as Truong, Hird and freshman Emma Hogan hit three RBIs each while Truong struck out four batters from the mound.
Although the weekend was considered a tournament, there was no winner and the games only took place on Saturday. This is largely due to the fact that its main purpose was for players to gain experience and become familiar with the game at the high school level.
This also led the team to begin the season with a record of five wins and two losses, as they have since beat Valley Christian and Gunn on March 3 and 11, respectively, and lost to San Mateo on the 18 and St. Ignatius on the 20. With league games beginning on March 26, they are going to bring the lessons they learned during preseason to the field.
“We’re just trying to keep working together and figure out, like, what we do, right,” said Loo.
