Softball has consecutively lost to its rival team, San Mateo High School, for the past several years. But this year, things changed. On Tuesday, March 17, the Panthers mercied San Mateo 14-4, bringing their pre-season record to 6-2. Despite competing in the lower Peninsula Athletic League (PAL) Ocean Division, the team has defeated Carlmont and Hillsdale High School, both of which play in the upper PAL Bay Division with San Mateo.

One of the key factors in Burlingame’s redemption was sophomore Brooke Arce, a transfer from Archbishop Riordan High School. She pitched the entire game, allowing runs in only two innings. Not only was she a force on the mound, but also at bat. Brooke Arce hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the third inning, giving the team a 6-2 lead.

“San Mateo put up a lot of just taxing at-bats and then grind away, grind away, grind away, and it wears on the gas tank,” head coach Al Delrosso said. “But she wanted the ball and wanted to keep going out there, and we were just trying to find what worked in each inning, and didn’t get too particular, and let the defense make some plays.”

In addition to Brooke Arce, the rest of the hitting lineup was finding contact — a factor Delrosso said was one of the team’s biggest strengths in this game.

“We struggled last year with good contact. This year we’ve got the whole lineup making good contact,” Delrosso said. “We preach it. We practice it every day, during batting practice.”

Senior catcher Kendall Gorshen hit the first home run in her high school career in the bottom of the second inning, which was also her first at-bat coming off an injury. Gorshen said the win was a team effort, with strong plays on both sides of the ball.

“Just overall, we’re a better team than last year. I feel like we played better together this year,” Gorshen said. “This game really was like a team game. Everyone played a part so we could win, and no one person was doing it all themselves.”

Aside from hitting, seniors Sam Arce and Brooke Schuman both made crucial plays on defense.

“We did really well with backing up our pitcher, and we weren’t relying on her too much, letting everybody play their part on the field,” sophomore Colette Uharriet said.

Sophomore Olivia Delucchi brought the score up to 14-4 in the bottom of the sixth inning with a triple, ending the game as a result of the ten-point lead. Brooke Arce said this win was especially meaningful to the team.

“I was so excited. We have this huge rivalry against San Mateo, and everyone on our whole team wanted to win so bad, and I knew that we could do it,” Brooke Arce said. “And this was our year that we beat San Mateo, and it was just so exciting.”