As the ILS Softball team made its debut last Thursday against Pace. The team walked away with a 14-3 win, starting off the season strong.

Senior Maia Medina pitched a gem last Thursday night, throwing a one hitter, with 10 strikeouts. She also scored scored twice, helping bring the team to a win.

This year the softball team is being coached by Dan Montesi. The coaching staff have been preparing the team from the start of the season and it showed in the first game last Thursday.

The team has been mainly working on strength training and conditioning compared to the previews years. A large area of practices are focused on running routine plays and game situations. Practice is held five days out of the week to ensure the team is focused and well trained for each game this season.

“My Expectations for the season is to be able to have fun since it’s my senior year. I’m grateful to be able to play and winning districts would be nice as well, fingers crossed,” stated senior Ariana Emirzian.

After losing five of seniors from last year, the team is building back their foundation and allowing the chemistry to fall back into place. The team added four freshman and one senior this year.

“For this year I just hope we have a full season, winning as many games as possible,” said Medina, who looks to be the team’s pitching ace. “We started off strong with a win for our first game. As the season continues, we hope to make it to districts and focus on improving our skills with several hours of hard work.”

Another primary practice focus is on aspects such as set plays, signs, and pitches. Being capable to understand the mental aspect of softball gives the player a great advantage while on the field.

The next softball game takes place on Tuesday, February 23rd against Coral Shores High School for a 6:00 pm game.