Author: Julie Xu
Currently 14-6-7, Women’s Softball is only two wins away from surpassing the school record in the amount of softball games won during a season. Doubling last year’s win record, the Tigers are making enormous amounts of progress.
The season started in February, and the women have been rigorously training since then. For the last two years, the members of the softball team have ended winter break about 11 days short to begin training in late January. With no distractions or the pressure of classes, they are able to attend double practices daily and work in the weight room frequently.
“One of the reasons why our team has been excelling this season is due to the foundation we laid over winter break,” Head Coach Jodie Cox said.
Although the team consists of only three seniors, the depth of the team has increased dramatically due to the presence and skills of the first-years. The women are not only competitive on the field during games, but they also have the same mindset when practicing.
“Our freshman are competing for starting spots and game time everyday at practice,” Cox said.
Due to the intensity at practices, the defense players — shortstop and outfielders — are the Tiger’s biggest strength out on the field. “[With strong defensive players] we have been able to run several plays at home, which prevents would-be runs and a couple double plays,” catcher Ashley Noone (sophomore) said.
With the defense gaining momentum, the Tigers are working diligently to overcome their weaknesses. “Due to the nature of how Occidental is structured, the girls are all perfectionists,” Cox said.
The need to be the best student, receive the best grades and be the best is not only demonstrated by the girls in the classroom but is also seen on the playing field.
“We all have different educational interests at Oxy and tend to over-analyze a relatively simple game of softball,” Tasha Serna-Gallegos (senior) said, who plays second base.
Coach Cox is continuously telling the girls that the only way to succeed in the game is to learn how to fail. The women are working to understand how to make mistakes in the game and learn from them.
While the majority of students left Occidental over spring break, the women on the softball team trained rigorously back at school.
Playing 10 games in the span of 10 days, the girls also practiced on days there were no competitions.
“Spring break was tough. We had a ton of games over a short period of time,” Noone said. Although the break was exhausting, the women earned 14 wins. “It was definitely a team bonding week,” Serna-Gallegos said. Working together as teammates over spring break helped build chemistry between the women.
The top four teams in the conference make it to the SCIAC Championships. Ultimately the women on the softball team hope to make it to playoffs this season. They take on Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at home on Apr. 8 at 2:00 p.m.
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