The Cosumnes River College (CRC) softball team will open the season with double headers on Friday and Saturday, playing in the Monterey Peninsula Classic. They open as the visiting team against Monterey Peninsula at 1:00 PM, Friday and then play again at 3:00 PM as the home team against Gavilan. On Saturday, they will play another home game against Gavilan at 11:00 AM, and they will finish the tournament playing a home game against Shasta at 1:00 PM.
The Opponents:
Monterey Peninsula is coming off a fantastic season where they finished with a 34-7 record. The team batting average was .317 and clubbed 21 home runs. Monterey Peninsula defeated CRC in the Regional last season but was defeated in a three-game series by Delta in the Super Regional. The team's three best hitters from last season are all returning sophomores: Olivia Pino, who hit .328 with 3 home runs and 17 RBI, Alexia Torculas, who hit .422 with 10 home runs and 40 RBI, and Kaylin Donovan, who hit .306 with 3 home runs and 35 RBI. Their main pitcher, Jesse Dupuis, is also set to return after posting a 25-5 record with a 1.52 ERA and 198 strikeouts in 184.1 innings pitched.
The next two games come against Gavilan who went 8-21 in the 2019 campaign. Gavilan hit .265 as a team and did not reach the postseason last year. Brooke Siaz, who hit .407 last season and was a singles machine will be returning to lead the offense. Siaz was also the team's leading pitcher last season, posting a 2-12 record in 100.1 innings pitched.
CRC will end the week with a tilt against Shasta College. Shasta went 23-13 overall last season and lost in the Regional to Sacramento City College. They hit .318 as a team with 12 home runs. Shasta's roster was loaded with sophomores last season, so they will be asking some new players to step up this season. Brooke Blades is the team's leading returning hitter and she batted .241 with 15 RBI last season. Neither of Shasta's pitchers from last season.
Coach Schroeder on the Monterey Peninsula Classic:
"On paper, MPC looks like the most difficult matchup of the weekend. It will be a good test for us. The two games against Gavilan are very winnable and I am excited for these matchups, but we cannot take them lightly as teams are subject to huge changes from season to season in community college softball. Pitching will play a huge role in the matchup with Shasta, and if our pitching keeps is in the game we will have a good chance to win."