The MHS varsity softball team’s winning record is 21-4 this season, and they are currently on a six-game winning streak, according to MaxPreps.
The team consists of many players who have played travel softball together for years, varsity softball player junior Priyah Quinonez said. This prior knowledge of playing softball makes the team more experienced than others, she added.
“A lot of us are seniors now, so this is the last year where we really know we can win something and make a name for ourselves,” Quinonez said. “A lot of our team has grown up together in travel ball. We’ve spent about seven years together all around plus the years of high school, so I think that we all know each other extremely well and have that same goal in the long run.”
Each player is skilled individually, which has played a role in the team’s success throughout the season, varsity softball player senior Jayden Vai said. Despite good and bad moments, they are still able to work well together, she added.
“Trusting each other is a big part of it because you have to have trust in your teammates in order for you all to do well,” Vai said. “We do all trust each other, no matter what the circumstances are.”
What makes the team unique from other schools and teams is the strong bond between each player, which is shown in their efforts to have fun together and not center every moment together around softball, Vai said.
“I think we’re doing pretty well,” Vai said. “Because our chemistry is so strong and we’ve had the same team since last year, we didn’t really skip a beat. “
This year’s new freshman players contribute greatly to the strength of the team, and there are many more players now than there were last year, varsity softball player senior America Irineo said. These new players include Chloe Cabrera, Kaelyn Cunanan, and Dominique Walker, she added.
“The elements are in our favor,” Irineo said. “There are certain people that weren’t here before that make the team more powerful — not only physically but emotionally too. We’re all very into it and we’re determined.”
Some of the most enjoyable aspects of playing softball at MHS are the diversity and the uplifting and positive atmosphere, Irineo said.
“Usually, when we go to different schools, (the students) don’t really look like us,” Irineo said. “We have a lot of diversity in our team, which isn’t something you usually see.”
During the season, the players’ biggest hardship was overcoming the fear of not performing to their expectations, Quinonez said. It is a given that not every game will be perfect, she added.
“Our coach put on a documentary and the biggest quote we learned was, ‘If your fear is being scared of striking out, then you can’t ever overcome it without overcoming the fact that you’re not going to be perfect all the time,’” Quinonez said.
However, Irineo feels that there haven’t been any major obstacles during the season since the team was connected from the start, she said.
“If there are any obstacles that we have faced, we’ve always overcome them within the day that it happens,” Irineo said. “There’s never really been something that has been weighing down on our shoulders.”
The team has various shared goals written in their dugout, which they will review at the end of the season to see if they have been met, Quinonez said.
“Our team goal for this year is to go back-to-back for league champs,” Quinonez said. “Right now, we’re on the roll for that. We have to just keep consistently winning.”