LBCC ace, Daisy Torres, was cooking with gas in front of a home house, and the Vikings offense put up 10 behind the power of Jaylene Ross, Brianna Nunez, and the speedy Hailey Veazie, against LA Harbor, in a win on Thursday, March 10.
Softball is a game of skill, unity, strategy, and passion. Coach Martinez has a unique handshake with each of her players. When a player is announced, her teammates clap at the same time. Chatter from the dugouts is background noise that occasionally comes to the foreground.
The Vikings were able to capture the essence of softball on Thursday through four and a half innings.
“For me, it symbolizes something that they can be comfortable with every time, every game, whether we’re home or away.” Coach Martinez said on her custom handshakes with her team.
Daisy Torres had another impressive outing in the circle for LBCC.
“She’s just on fire right now and we’re really excited about her,” Coach Martinez said after the game. She also noted her pitch count has been receding recently.
When asked what pitches were working well for her, Daisy responded with her go-to pitches, “Inside screw and rise.” She also felt like the second inning is where she settled into her groove.
The pitching wasn’t the only story for the home team. They scored 10 runs after all.
“As a hitting coach, you couldn’t be any more proud,” LBCC hitting coach Fa Leilua said.
The Vikings were able to display their depth at the plate by bringing in their bench to do some scoring of their own.
Haley Veazie showed speed and power with a triple to the right-center gap.
“We’ve been working in the cages a lot.” Leilua added about Veazie, “To see that finally go into play and being in the game is really good to see that.”
The new batting cages are proving themselves worth the investment with the balanced attack on offense the Vikings have been providing in recent games. Including Thursday’s 10 runs, they have scored 48 runs over their last four games.
If Daisy Torres can keep up her consistency and this roster can keep hitting, the team’s ascension has no clear end in sight.