Girls’ varsity softball (4-10 PAL Bay, 7-12-1 overall) fell 9-6 to San Mateo High School despite a late-game comeback on Thursday, May 11. Prior to the game, the team also commemorated their graduating seniors with a short ceremony. Despite the loss, the game was still full of worthwhile moments, and a four-run seventh inning is a testament to the  strong team dynamic and camaraderie.

“I love all the people I got to play with. I connected with every single person on that team,” senior Nora Leslie said. “Being there with those people makes softball fun for me.”

The loss dropped the team to seventh in the highly competitive Bay Division and moved their overall regular season record to 7-12-1. 

“Even though we lost quite a bit, our team did not let it affect us, and we did not let our game record get to us,” junior Lily Grenier said. 

Although the team might have appreciated a less-lopsided record, their losses aren’t reflective of the season as a whole or the memories the girls made. Specifically, when reminiscing on the season, head coach John Saucedo cited their comeback victory against league champions Capuchino High School as one of his most fond memories. 

“[I’m most fond of] the game against Cappuccino where we came from behind and beat the number one team in the league,” Saucedo said.

Junior Olivia Fleming was Burlingame’s standout player this season, leading the team with 21 runs, 9 stolen bases and 31 hits, boasting an impressive .443 batting average and .474 on-base percentage.

“We started off a little rocky, but in the end, we’ve been working really well as a team and we’ve been getting really competitive,” Fleming said. “[Next year] I will keep that competitive attitude throughout the entire season instead of waiting until the middle [of the season].”

Despite the team’s rocky league record, the girls’ perseverance paid off as they qualified for the Central Coast Section (CCS) tournament as the third seed in Division V.

“We’ve improved so much this year and really been able to come together as a team,” Leslie said. 

Burlingame will play their first CCS game at home against sixth seed Monte Vista High School on Saturday, May 20, at 11a.m. with the hopes of extending their season with a playoff run. 

“There are always going to be ups and downs,” Saucedo said. “But I think this year, consistently, they played well. And I think they finally get it that they can play at any level.”