Softball No. 1 in league with record of 4-0
Sydney Roker, Staff Writer
Samo’s varsity softball team took on Torrance High School in their first home game of the season on March 8. The game started with a home run from Torrance, but Samo quickly responded with a home run of their own from Brielle Minor (’23) in the second inning. After a lull towards the middle of the game, Torrance scored their second home run, but Samo responded once again by scoring runs from Minor and Ciena Burgos (’24) leading the game to remain closely matched throughout. Towards the end of the game, Torrance was able to score multiple runs to win the game by two runs with a final score of 4-6. Varsity member Jasmine Arana (’24) reflects on the team’s strategy that led to their loss.
There were a couple of mistakes made defensively that cost us runs. We didn’t hit as we should which led to our loss. Although we did play well until the last couple of innings, we just need to keep our energy up and make sure that we collectively make better hitting choices. I also think the pressure of having students watch us caused a shift in attitude and caused us to be nervous. We need to learn to tune out our spectators,” Arana said.
Samo’s 4-6 loss puts their current record at 3-4, but they have yet to play a league game. Their first is coming up on Mar. 16 at Culver City, after their penultimate non-league game of the season and last until April 18 at Bishop Montgomery. The team’s hopes remain high for the remainder of their season where they hope to continue to make improvements and work together cohesively.
On Friday, Mar. 18, Samo took down Palos Verdes in a 4-1 league match up. After Palos Verdes earned the first run of the game, Samo didn’t let down and earned four straight runs, preventing Palos Verdes from scoring any more runs after their initial lead. The first of Samo’s four runs came from Drew Vudmuska (’25) who kicked off Samo’s scoring streak by earning a home run. The team’s next two runs came from Brielle Minor (’23), then from Ciena Burgos (’24). Samo’s victorious game ended with Minor catching a line drive to shortstop to end the game.
Samo’s win against Palos Verdes came after two previous wins against Bishop Montgomrey and Culver city. The team’s three straight wins make their current record 6-4, a much improved record from where they were at this point last season, and even where the team was at the beginning of the season. Minor reflected on the team’s improvement and what led the team to their third consecutive win.
“I think our team played pretty well overall. Our team tends to struggle with playing a complete game from first pitch to last out, but we definitely did that Friday. We played a solid games on both sides of the ball and that’s what helped us win comfortably,” Minor said.
Anna Oeser (’23) pitches a ball at a player at home base. The game was against Palos Verdes High School on March 18. Samo won 4-1.