By Diana Avila
San Jose State’s softball team is preparing for another successful season with practice and increased bonding amongst the athletes.
“I think we just kind of have to put all the pieces together,” sophomore infielder Alyssa Graham said. “But I think we have a lot of talent this year and I expect to go pretty far.”
Even though there are many underclassmen on the field, the players said they are confident that each player has potential for success this season.
“I think we need to just last a little longer, “Graham said. “I think we always start [strong] the past two years I’ve been here. We start really strong [at] the beginning of the season, and we’re just worn out by the end.”
The team finished its season 37-16 and hit .276 on the season and had a 2.59 team ERA.
Head coach Peter Turner said he has goals to take the team to play at the conference championship and win the championship.
“I thought last year we were snubbed from the NCAA [tournament] and hopefully that drives them,” Turner said.
Turner said the team has come close to bringing the championship to SJSU a couple of times during the last few years.
“We fell one short last year,” Turner said. “Taking second is no consolation prize.”
The team has taken second place three times in the last four years, clinching the championship in 2017.
The team is looking to create a closer family dynamic no matter when newer players joined the roster.
“I’d say in the past, we have been a little bit cliquey especially with [player’s] grades,” infielder sophomore Cassidy Clark said.
In the past, the team tended to be divided by grade level and position. However, Clark said everyone is trying to be inclusive regardless of what year players are in. She added that this has helped the team trust each other.
Clark said that one player to keep an eye on for a breakout season is freshman Shannon Haddad, who previously played for Thousand Oaks High School.
“She doesn’t act like a freshman, for sure,” Clark said. “She plays like she’s been here for years, which is really awesome to see from a freshman.”
The bond the players have has expanded not only within their own dugout, but with other clubhouses they play against.
“I think that softball is pretty good friends with [other teams] and I think that we’ll get some support from teams and come out to some games,” sophomore pitcher Jenessa Ullegue said.
Ullegue said as a team they try to improve every day with the help of their coach and listening to the advice he shares with them at every practice.
“We should all have the same common goal, which is to just keep getting to the next game. . . get it to the next game and leaving it all out there,” Ullegue said.
She said that she tries to go by the coach’s philosophy to put 100% effort in at all times on the field to not be disappointed with the results.
