Despite keeping the game extremely close through the first four innings, girls’ softball (1-2 Peninsula Athletic League Ocean division) fell to Menlo-Atherton High School (3-1 Peninsula Athletic League Ocean) 10-6 on Thursday, April 23.
The Panthers made contact with the ball throughout the game, especially in the second inning, when they took a 2-1 lead. Senior Brooke Schuman hit a double, which brought in senior Kendall Gorshen, who had been walked earlier in the inning. However, starting in the third inning, defensive errors resulted in the Bears accumulating runs.
“Something we can improve on is just executing plays and just everything in general. And I think being a little bit more clean, just on the field and in our at-bats, is really going to push us over the edge,” senior co-captain Sophie Lin said.
In the fifth inning, M-A began to pull ahead, stealing multiple bases and bringing the score to 5-3. The Bears began to find even more contact in the 6th inning, scoring five runs to increase their lead to 10-3. Because of this, head coach Al Del Rosso made a mid-inning pitcher change, putting in junior Aditi Bafna, who helped shut the inning down.
“I’ve always loved to pitch. So obviously, whenever I get out there, I love to go in. I was a little bit nervous because I got in with zero outs to full bases. But I feel like, over the years, I’ve developed confidence in my team and everything, and I was excited to go out there,” Bafna said.
Even though it looked like the game was over going into the final inning, the Panthers were able to generate momentum, starting with a hit from junior Maddy Koo and continuing with a double from sophomore Olivia Delucchi. Though the Panthers were ultimately unable to pull out the win, they scored three more runs to conclude the game in a 10-6 loss.
“When we were communicating, we would rally off each other, but I think that we definitely need to improve on getting up to that rally. I feel like we do get off topic sometimes, and we need to pull together and rally, because when we do rally, you break the pressure of the other team,” Bafna said.
Lin said that despite the loss, the team’s chemistry is still evident.
“We work really well as a team, and we have really good team chemistry, so even if we win or lose, it doesn’t matter. We’re always doing it together,” Lin said.
Del Rosso said M-A is one of the top teams in their league. Currently, the team is regrouping and looking towards their next league matchup against Woodside High School on Tuesday, April 28.
“Menlo[-Atherton] is top in our league, we got Woodside next week. And you know, in the [Ocean] division, we’re carrying three and two record against them right now. And so looking forward to playing Woodside next week, and then, you know, looking forward to hopefully sweeping the rest of our games on the way out,” Del Rosso said.
