Underclassmen were key players for those squads
Although the end of their respective seasons came swiftly last week, the Fremont and Homestead High School softball teams may have only begun to make their marks in the Central Coast Section.
While Branham and San Benito ushered them to first-round exits from the CCS Division I playoffs last Wednesday, both the Firebirds and Mustangs featured young and talented squads that should only get better— and possibly go further— over the course of the next couple of seasons.
“This season was truly a team effort, and one that they will look back fondly on and smile with pride,” said Fremont coach Tony Phillips following his club’s 5-3 loss to Branham.
The Firebirds rebounded from a 9-15 record a year ago to capture their first Santa Clara Valley Athletic League El Camino Division championship since 2007 and appear in the post-season for the first time since 2010. They will lose only two seniors to graduation from a roster that included two juniors, seven sophomores and four freshmen.
The Mustangs, who finished 1-11 in the De Anza Division last year to miss the CCS playoffs for the first time since 2007, should have 12 players of their 16-girl roster back in 2020.
“We have a good core returning and some good talent coming from the junior varsity, plus some incoming freshmen that could factor in,” said Homestead coach Scot Strotman after his squad dropped a 14-4 decision to San Benito last Wednesday. “Talent-wise, we are headed in the right direction.”
A trio of sophomores sparkled for Fremont in its loss to Branham, combining for five of the Firebirds’ seven hits.
Angel Torres led the way with a pair of hits, including a two-run triple in the top of the sixth that broke up the shutout bid of Branham’s Carissa Rivera. Emily Yau contributed a pair of doubles and scored a run, while Alana Brockman added a double.
Seniors Kianna Lum and Lauren Hamasaki accounted for Fremont’s other two hits, with Hamasaki’s driving in Brockman with the Firebirds’ final run in the top of the seventh.
“Even when we were down 5-0, the girls kept their spirits up,” Phillips said. “They may be young, but I didn’t see any nerves.”
The Firebirds ended up 16-9 for the year, including 11-1 in El Camino Division play.
Underclassmen accounted for all eight of Homestead’s hits in its setback to San Benito.
Freshman Niamh O’Neill ripped three singles, and sophomore Kaylee Ramirez had two. Juniors Megan O’Neill and Sierra Fry, and freshman Emily Guerra each lashed a double.
“I knew we were better than last year, and I’d say we ended up about where I thought we’d be,” Strotman said. “I’m happy we made the CCS playoffs.”
The Mustangs wound up the year 12-12 overall, and finished tied for third with Los Altos in the SCVAL De Anza Division.
For the second year in a row, the Piedmont Hills Pirates brought a premature conclusion to the Wilcox Chargers’ season.
A year after edging them 6-5 in the Division I quarterfinals, the Pirates nipped the Chargers 2-1 last Wednesday in the opening round of the playoffs.
“We won 21 games against only seven losses, came within a game of winning our tough league, won an elite tournament, and beat Mitty, which is seeded second in the Open Division,” Wilcox coach David Currie said. “We came up short in the end, but, overall, we had a very successful season.”
The Chargers scored first against Piedmont Hills on a fourth-inning sacrifice fly by Devin Baddo. But the Pirates retaliated with two runs in the top of the fifth to take the lead, and Wilcox was never able to mount a serious threat the rest of the way.
“We had one bad inning defensively to allow the two runs,” Currie said.
