Guest Writer: Caitlin Slater
As the season is under way, the Cougars softball team weaves in and out of some tough losing streaks. Last week, after losing 3-4 to Dixie State, they won one game and lost the other in a doubleheader at home against Concordia on March 29. This weekend, they won one out of the five games in the non-conference Tournament of Champions.
Senior pitcher Ariana von Zboray was packing the heat on the mound last Wednesday night against Concordia. With it only being her fourth pitching start of the season, she offered a four-hit shutout.
“Hold em, hold em, hold em,” von Zboray said as she explains what goes through her mind while she’s on the mound. “Stay consistent. Don’t do anything I wasn’t already doing before.”
Another notable player, junior first-baseman Kayla Jimenez, had two hits and the one and only RBI during the sixth inning of the second game Wednesday night, taking the victory from the Eagles.
Jimenez is always working towards improving her hitting, and with a .393 batting average prior to the tournament, her hard work is paying off.
“I’m always trying to get better at my hitting,” Jimenez said. “Like pitch selection, confidence up to bat, and just basic fundamental things.”
The Cougars currently stand with an overall record of 22-16, and a 13-7 PacWest record. They are working towards cleaning up mistakes and building up momentum for the remainder of the season. Coach Carrie Webber reflected on some things she has ingrained in the team this year.
“We try to emphasize them working hard in practice as far as, not really changing anything, not being too eager, but having a sense of urgency,” Webber said. “We talk a lot about momentum. Work ahead and score first. Sometimes it’s hard to create momentum, but that’s what you have to do to really get things rolling.”
After some tough losses this weekend, the team hopes to get the ball rolling as they head back into PacWest play this week.
Over the weekend, the team traveled to Turlock, California, where they battled some fierce opponents including No. 2-ranked Humboldt State, No. 7-ranked Chico State, Cal State East Bay, Stanislaus State and Northwest Nazarene.
Prior to the tournament, the team set their sights on the opportunity to play against such tough teams.
“A lot of times we don’t get the opportunity to prove ourselves outside of our conference,” Webber said. “What we’ve been telling the girls is that this is a great opportunity to prove yourself to the people that don’t get to see you all the time and make a statement.”
It had been a long time coming for these match-ups. The last time the Cougars faced Humboldt State and Cal State East Bay was back in 2015.
At the start of the season the girls were working towards a common goal of cohesion. With half of the team being returners and the other half all new, team chemistry has played a major role in lifting each other up when need be.
“We are one unit,” von Zboray said. “We are going to do good together and we are going to do bad together.”
With such a fresh and new team, von Zboray, Jimenez and others have had to learn and adjust to leadership roles.
“As returners we are here to help them in any way we can and I feel like we’ve picked up that responsibility and just working together as a team in all is really helping us with some of these tough wins,” Jimenez said.
The growing bond is even noticeable from the stands. You can see the girls cheering on their teammates from the dugout as they walk up to bat, and hear the sound of laughs and chants throughout the game.
“You can start to see they are a lot more comfortable with each other,” Webber said. “I think that comfort level transfers over to the field as well. It’s taken some time, but I think we are in a really good spot right now and I’m just enjoying the season, the girls are great.”
Next up, the Cougars will play a four-game series at home against Dominican on April 7-8.