Lackluster year brings experience
SOFTBALL: Despite a five game losing streak, the Lady Brahmas were able to finish their last four games with two wins and two losses.
May 18, 2016
While missing the CIF playoffs, the Diamond Bar softball team finished the season with a league record of 3-7 and an overall record of 10-14-2.
“It has been a season of ups and downs as we have played really well against tough teams and have lost really close games to teams that we feel that our team could’ve beaten,” head coach Roberta Garcia said via email.
The team finished the preseason, 8-7-2, participating in multiple tournaments such as the Brea Olinda Tournament and the Mark Takkinen Memorial Classic. Notable wins in the tourneys included 10-2 wins over Rowland and Ontario and a 3-1 victory over El Dorado.
The Lady Brahmas actually had their first league win in the middle of preseason when they defeated the Glendora Tartans, 4-1. Garcia labeled this match as the most memorable game of the year.
That victory would be the only one in six games as the Lady Brahmas went on a five-game losing streak, which would end with a 5-4 win over Ayala on April 29. Garcia pointed to the team’s hitting inconsistency as an area that was hurting the team.
“We need to feel comfortable in tight situations when they are up at the plate,” Garcia said.
In their final match, the Lady Brahmas took a win away from the Bonita Bearcats, 5-2. DB had six total hits in the match.
With the end of the season comes the loss of seniors Andrea Gonzalez, Breena Harold and Pamela Wang. Harold was third in the team in runs with 15 and led in stolen bases with four while pitcher Gonzalez had 37 strikeouts.
The departure of the seniors will leave a hole to fill, but Garcia is confident that the team will be able to step up in their absence.
“We are hoping that there will be some [junior varsity] players that can fill some of the empty roster spots or some of the new incoming freshmen if they are ready to compete at the varsity level,” Garcia said.
Other than incoming players, Garcia also looks to juniors Ruth Munoz and Becky Winder to lead the team next season.
Munoz led the team with 18 runs while having the second best batting average.
Winder had the most extra base hits with seven and was also the team’s leader in wins (8) and strikeouts (44).
Another standout player for the team was sophomore Lizzi Wilson. Wilson led in hits (26), RBIs (15), and batting average (.325).
As the season ends, the Lady Brahmas don’t plan to stop working and improving during the offseason in order to compete with the rest of the league.
“The Palomares League is a really strong league. We hope that our players will play in some type of summer softball to get more experience that will help our teams next season,” Garcia said.
