On April 13, a cold and windy afternoon, Bonita Vista High’s (BVH) girls’ varsity softball played against Rancho Buena Vista (RBV) on the BVH softball field. Despite the cold weather, BVH put an end to their four-game losing streak with a drastic win, 13-6.

“Coming into today’s game, I felt very confident in the team. It was a little rocky and nerve-racking at first because of the losing streak we had, but we all came together to get the win,” third baseman and freshman Ariana Magdeleno (99) said.

Starting off the game, RBV batted first, against BVH pitcher and sophomore Natalie Gonzalez (00). Whilst both BVH and RBV chanted, RBV’s first batter got on base, reaching third. RBV then hit the ball into midfield, scoring their first point. Eventually, RBV struck out, allowing  BVH to bat. N. Gonzalez explained how much she wanted to win the game and break the four game losing streak.

“We kept practicing for this game. We practiced a lot of hitting drills. We also made preparations for this level of pitching, having weekly practices to get us going for the games,” BVH girls’ varsity softball head coach Alejandro Jordan said.

In the bottom of second inning, first base and junior Vivana Flores (32) hit a foul ball, but recovered and hit it left-outfield, running to second base and stealing third base as the center fielder and sophomore Enyssa Dominguez (22) hit it towards left-outfield. This allowed Flores to score and allowed  Dominquez to get to first base. Third baseman and junior Alisa Quitoriano (24) batted next and hit a ground ball to left field making it to first base and allowing Dominguez to get to second base. Then, second baseman and junior Bryanna Baca (12) hit outfield, allowing Dominguez to score and Quitoriano on third. On Magdaleno’s turn to bat, she hit it out of the field gates, as BVH yelled “Home run!”. At the end of the second inning, they celebrated their lead of 6-1.

“I felt very happy for her [Magdaleno]. She is only a freshman and has h potential and lots of growing to do. However, to see her get a good hit and make a home run made me and the team happy,” Jordan said.inning

At the bottom of the third inning, BVH was on offense with Flores, hitting it towards shortstop and getting an out. Right fielder and sophomore Anaissa Del Rio (22) got a walk to first base, with Quitoriano hitting it far outfield allowing Del Rio to hit home and make the score 7-1. Iapala hit the ball and made a run to first base, allowing Quitoriano to hit home. Next, Aboytes hit the ball towards shortstop and made it to first, allowing for Iapala to score and Baca on second. After Magdelano hit the ball and Baca made it home, the score was 11-1. 

“This game specifically was important to us since obviously we were trying to break our losing streak. It also was a home game, so we were trying to make our school proud by getting a win and representing BVH,” Magdeleno said.

The top of the fifth inning began with the score 11-1, with RBV starting at bat. The opposing team got a walk off to first base and got a pinch runner. RBV scored two sets the score at 11-3. Eventually, RBV got three outs, allowing BVH to bat. Keeran hit a single to first base and eventually made it to second. However, Dominguez hit and got third out, ending the bottom fifth inning. N. Gonzalez explained what she thinks the team needs in order to improve.

“We need to improve on working as one. Lately, I noticed that we have been working as individuals, and once we can work together, I feel like we can become a stronger and better team,” N. Gonzalez said. 

Going into the fifth inning, it was RBV’s turn to bat. Quitariano catched the ball flying towards her, getting the first out for RBV. RBV recovered from one out and scored a point for their team. The bottom inning ended with 11-4. 

“During the fifth inning, I started to struggle, especially since the umpire called illegal pitches on me so that made me nervous. However, I tried not focusing on that and just focused on my gameplay,” N. Gonzalez said.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, it was BVH’s turn to bat. Del Rio went up to bat and got a walk off. Quitariano batted to center outfield making it to first base, causing Del Rio to get out. Freshman Susana Gonzalez batted up, allowing for Quitariano to steal second base. Baca got on first base with a walkoff then Aboytes hit it to center back, Quitariano and Baca made it home and scored two more points for BVH. The score was then 13-4. S. Gonzalez explained how well she thought the team worked together.

“I held RBV back as much as I could and while I was holding them back, the team was out there getting them out as well. We all worked together well and as one,” S. Gonzalez said. 

After the game was over the girl’s grouped up together and congratulated each other on their big win as they were finally able to break a losing streak. Jordan expressed how proud he was of his team and how grateful he was to have the opportunity to coach. 

“I love the competition that comes with softball. Not necessarily that, but I like the fact that I can push kids to achieve their goals and be able to play at higher levels. I also enjoy seeing kids improve on their skills and being able to help them with that process is amazing,” Jordan said.