GONZALES — Despite a rough 0-2 start in league play, Gonzales High’s softball team has become a top contender in the Pacific Coast Athletic League’s Cypress Division with a current seven-game winning streak.
Last Tuesday, April 26, the Lady Spartans faced Alisal for the second time. In the first matchup on March 24, the Trojans beat them 8-1. Since that loss, Gonzales has turned things around.
In the first game, Gonzales pitcher Alex Guerrero went seven innings, giving up 10 hits and eight runs. In the second game, she did a complete 180, striking out 16 batters and only giving up one hit in the Spartans’ 4-0 win over Alisal, extending their winning streak to six.
After picking up two on the mound this week, Guerrero improves her record to 11-6. But before this winning streak, she didn’t fully trust herself when she was on the mound.
“From the beginning of the season to now, confidence did play a key role in my approach,” Guerrero said. “I’m more confident with the command of my pitches, and trusting my pitches more. I know how I want to pitch to the batter and create a different approach to each batter. Overall it really was a growing confidence in both myself and my team and really playing for each other as a team.”
After getting revenge on the Trojans, the Lady Spartans’ next challenger was the Soledad Aztecs.
Gonzales wouldn’t need an outstanding game from Guerrero, as the ladies scored 13 runs. Celeste Camarena led the way, leading the team in hits and homers in the 13-3 win.
Spartan players Bry Perez and Angelina Navarro all had home runs in their win over Soledad.
When the Lady Spartans went through their losing streak early on, they knew something had to change in their approach. The fix was simple: They just started having more fun.
“We had to learn to transition from our past season to our current season during the beginning of the year,” Guerrero said. “We had to put aside the past season and start fresh. Over time we learned how to balance hard work but have fun simultaneously.”
With King City winning both of their games last week, the Lady Spartans remain a game back for first place in the Cypress Division. Gonzales will play their final home game of the regular season on May 5 against Rancho San Juan.
