The Lady Brahma’s softball season came to an end after a devastating loss against the Aliso Niguel Wolverines on Tuesday afternoon in a wild card game. Unable to get consistent hits and struggling to contain the Wolverine’s offense, DB fell short 9-1. “We underestimated the other team and we were not ready to play,” senior captain Dani Wilson admits.
The Wolverines scored two runs right from the beginning, commanding the tone of the game and keeping DB scoreless as it struggled against AN’s pitching. The first inning ended with a score of 2-0.
After a short break, DB seemed to get things going as freshman Andrea Gonzalez scored one run. However, one run was not enough to outlast the Wolverines, who scored two runs in their half of the inning. DB struggled the rest of the match as they could not score again, finishing with five hits. “We committed too many errors that opened the door for Aliso Niguel. You can’t do this against a good team,” coach Roberta Garcia said.
Taking advantage of DB’s inability to score, AN scored one run in the third inning and two runs in the sixth and seventh, finishing the game. It was a lopsided match as the heavily favored Wolverines proved their overall record of 20-12.
Although the season came to an end, it was a learning experience for many underclassmen who will be returning next year with a more determined attitude. “We need to gain more game experience outside of the high school season,” Garcia said.
DB has high expecations for the next season. “We are graduating three seniors Dani Wilson, Briana Gonzalez, and Yolanda Leon. We look forward to next season as most of our returning players play travel softball over the summer. This experience that they gain is important for our program. If we are going to compete against softball teams in Division II we need all players to play outside of the high school softball season. We had some awesome plays from our underclassmen as we started three freshmen, one sophomore, and two juniors,” Garcia said.
The Lady Brahmas concluded its season with an overall record of 12-15 and a league record of 3-4. DB tied second in league but lost the tie breaker by the a coin flip. It was a season to remember. “Overall, I thought we had a good season and we learned a lot about coming together and playing as a team,” Wilson said.