Nothin’ Soft About it!
“Let’s go, ladies!”
“3 up, 3 down.”
“Outfield,
nothing drops!”
Where else would you hear this? I’ll give you one clue: it looks like a diamond, but it’s orange. If you guessed the softball field, you’re right! The place where 9 girls come together with one goal: protect home plate.
Softball for some people is an “easy sport”, but little do they know there’s nothing soft about it. One bad throw to any base, and that’s a run the team can’t get back. Every position is just as important as the next. Infielders are the team’s first line of defense. Infielders have to have the reflexes to stop a ground ball and catch it if it takes a bad hop.
Outfielders have to stand out in the sun, waiting for any pop up’s or line drives that get past the infield.
The hardest positions of all are the pitcher and catcher. The pitcher has to find a strike zone and do her best to not hit the batter, while the catcher has to block any bad pitch and try her best to throw any runner out who is brave enough to steal the next base.
For the Miami High Diamond Girls, the season has been in motion since February. Last season, after going to regionals for the first time in 20 years, expectations for this year were high. Unfortunately, the team suffered a tremendous loss when 5 of the seniors from last year’s team graduated, but that didn’t mean this year’s team wouldn’t be working just as hard as last year.
Head coach Waldo Rodriguez began the season saying, “I’m hoping to get into the district tournament and make some noise!”
Veteran Jasmin Aldana, a sophomore, was hoping to win more than 4 district games this year. Veteran Samantha Jiron, another 10th grader, looked forward to developing healthy relationships within the team. Freshman Jasmin Cantillano’s goal was to improve as a player and to stop getting injured.
Being such a young team, the Diamond Girls encountered some challenges. “The team’s biggest weakness would be that we have players who have never played before this year,” said freshman short stop Madison McReynolds.
1st baseman Kristy Castellanos, a veteran and senior, thought the biggest challenge the team faced was communicating with each other during games.
As the softball team prepared to battle for a chance to play in districts, they had to put in extra work to prove that they had what it takes. Freshman outfielder Briana Arroliga said, “I practice on weekends so that I can get better.”
Sophomore outfielder Anielka Figueroa said, “I do my best to take the same aggression and motivation I have at practice to the games.”
The team’s current district record is 3-4. During the month of March, the team beat Miami Beach twice 16-4 and 11-6; lost to Coral Park 16-6; and beat South Miami 5-4. They also secured their seat for the district playoffs which begin in mid April.
Jasmin Aldana says, “We’ve had lots of losses but not because our opponents were too tough; it’s because we weren’t mentally prepared for them.”
In the team’s eyes their toughest opponent would be South Miami. “Their pitcher has a speed that we haven’t seen before, and the first time we played them, most of us choked when we were up to bat,” said center fielder Onalis Garcia.
Softball teams are more than just a group of girls swinging some bats and throwing some balls. Freshman outfielder Angel Navas says, “Being on the softball team is like having a bunch of sisters. I grew up with boys, so it’s nice to have a group of girls that I can call my second family.”
Noemi Martinez and Daiana Morales’ favorite thing about being on the team is the amount of friendships that were built throughout the season.
Junior Gabriela Barraza says, “What I like most about being on the softball team is being able to have something to strive to succeed in with my friends.”
Coach Waldo points out the strengths of the team are the catching by senior veteran Janelyse Banos and new and improved pitching by Samantha Jiron. He also includes Kristy Castellanos among his top players.
Summing up the season, Gennessys Eusebio, a veteran and junior, said, “My team is everything to me. Yes, we had our ups and downs but at the end of the day I wouldn’t trade them for anything in the world. I’m proud of how much we got to accomplish together.”