On March 19, Delta Softball went up against the Diablo Valley Vikings for the first time this season.
The game was a landslide, resulting in a score of 9-1 in favor of Delta. The game ended in five total innings due to the run-ahead rule, which allows for the plate umpire to decide an end to the game if one team is ahead by eight or more runs after five or more innings.
The win extended Delta’s winning streak to six games, leading them to 15 total wins for the season out of 18 games.
“It feels really good and it gives me a sense of like security within our team because every single game that we’ve won, we’ve won it in a different manner. So, I kind of, we’ve kind of learned like how we can go through the ups and downs, and how we can pull out a win of every game,” said sophomore utility player Caitlynn Campbell.
The team’s continued success throughout the season looks to be an indicator of how the team will fare as the season goes on and eventually reaches its end.
“It feels pretty good. I mean the team’s looking great and we feel very confident of us going far. I think if we just keep working and feeling confident and communicating as a team, I think we’re gonna be doing good,” said sophomore infielder Cheyenne Torrez.
Success is not a thing that comes naturally, and it is evident by their win record that these players put in the work allowing them to grow as athletes and as a team.
“As a team we do a lot of conditioning at practice and I feel like that’s helped a lot especially with our stamina for like the double-headers that we have,” said Campbell.
Head Coach Jim Fisher puts the women through practice to grow their abilities and to prepare for what may be thrown their way in the future.
“I mean Fisher works us pretty hard. I mean mainly we’re, right now what we’re doing is conditioning. He’s kind of giving us like mentally making us mentally stronger and obviously physically stronger. And since we have a long season ahead of us and we’re not playing easy teams. So, we’re just trying to be ready for whatever comes our way,” said sophomore infielder Erica Tovar.
A mindset of many of the players is to do better today than you did yesterday, motivating them to improve their skills on and off the field.
“My own personal goals is to just do the best I can and to do better than I did last season. Whether that’s, I don’t know, having a better batting average or literally anything. Just do better than I did last year,” said Campbell.
This year’s team is largely new to college softball, with only six sophomores on the roster of 18 total players.
Due to the income of new talent to the team, sophomores like Torrez have taken on a mentorship role, to help the incoming freshman and to form better connections throughout the team.
“I love them. It’s actually, it’s been a great experience. I feel like I personally learned a lot being a mentor, like communicating better and just having a better teammate, and like a better person towards somebody, and just kind of, and just kind of like you know helping them have a good experience here at Delta, but they’re a good young group of girls and they’re really fun to play with. So, I’m very proud of them,” said Torrez.
Last season, the Mustangs reached the second round of playoffs after a 27 win season and this year the team has big goals to continue their successes and go to state.
After their March 19 game, the team extended their win streak even further with two wins against the Butte College roadrunners on March 20.