It’s still too early for spring flowers to start blooming, but a couple of SBCC spring sports teams are flourishing on the field in their first month of competition.
The Vaquero softball team won its third straight one-run game — a 6-5 decision over Hancock on Tuesday in its WSC opener — to improve to 10-0. Also on Tuesday, the baseball team won its eighth in a row to start the season, blanking Cerro Coso, 8-0.
Coach Jasmyne Perry’s softball team is off to the program’s best start in years.
The Vaqueros have been hammering the ball since their first game. They are hitting .349 as a team, with a slugging percentage of .515, scored 70 runs and hit 29 doubles.
In their latest win over Hancock, they smacked six doubles and a home run in a 13-hit attack. Delaney Neeley doubled in Alexia Ayala with the winning run in the top of the seventh inning.
Perry has turned things around in the program, which has dealt with two shortened seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, the Vaqueros barely fielded enough players and finished 10-30.
The conference-opening win over Hancock matched last season’s win total.
Perry has made considerable upgrades to the roster. Four returners – Isabella Huckaby, Lauren Indermuehle, Mellanie Barth and Sarah Hammonds – have been joined by 12 newcomers who have made an instant and significant impact.
Four of the new Vaqueros are batting at least .400, with freshman shortstop Neely leading the team with a .448 average and 13 hits. The others are Dos Pueblos alum Jessica Reveles (.429), Elliana Ryan (.412) and Joslyn Soinila, who is also the team’s starting pitcher.
A former Chico-Pleasant Valley High standout, Soinila has been nothing short of remarkable, boasting a perfect 7-0 mark with a 1.32 ERA and 6.43 strikeouts per seven. Sharing responsibilities with her in the circle is Indermuehle, who is 3-0 with a 2.03 ERA and a .444 batting average and seven doubles.
“I came from a very intense program last year with a winning culture being our center, so when I arrived here I kept that same mentality,” Soinila told SBCC Sports Information Director Michael Jorgenson. “Coming to a new school I felt nerves in my first couple starts, but never from being unprepared. My coaches have made me a stronger player than I imagined, from the weight room to my mental game.”
Soinila pitched the first five innings of the season, combining forces with Indermuehle to get a good 3-2 season-opening win over Riverside. Her second game at L.A. Valley was one for the books, as she became the first Vaquero to throw a no-hitter since 2016 and possibly the first ever to do it in seven full innings.
“The no-hitter is somewhat of a blur to me,” she said. “I knew in the moment and in-between innings that I was throwing a no-hitter, but while I was out there I would completely forget about it. This team has been such a positive experience for me. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Ayala provided an early-season big moment last week against Porterville. With SBCC trailing 3-2 in the sixth inning, the freshman from San Gorgonio High in San Bernardino blasted a game-winning two-run homer to right field.
“As soon as I hit the ball to right field, I knew it was a shot and I knew to keep running,” Ayala told Jorgenson. “As I was turning on second, I saw coach Jasmyne waving to me to go home and once I hit third I felt joy and excitement. I dove at home and ran into the dugout. The girls were all so excited for me and cheering me on. I fell to the floor exhausted from running all four bases. That really made me happy.”
Ayala credits the team’s success to “our bonding and teamwork. We all have good relationships with each other and that tends to go well with how we perform. It feels really good being on this 10-0 team, which I honestly couldn’t say I expected in the beginning of the season.
“Coach Jasmyne did say she was very excited about our team which made me excited. The returners welcomed us with open arms and, as someone who’s not from Santa Barbara, they’ve done such a good job at making me feel comfortable and at home.”
The veteran Hammonds likes what she sees from this group of players.
“This year’s team just has a willingness to leave it all out there on the field,” she said. “We’ve adapted to overcome any errors made. We all share a mentality to strive to be better every single day and we’re more determined. We have a solid defense to back up our great pitchers this year and it shows.
“But the main difference between this year and last year is our bats. We have a solid line up with strong bats to prove it.”
The SBCC roster also includes area high school alums Daisy Becerra (San Marcos), Mikayla Butzke (Dos Pueblos), Mackenzie Ensign (Dos Pueblos), Elliana Ryan (Righetti) and Huckaby (Lompoc).
The team’s next home game is Feb. 28 against Ventura.