Gregori softball team ready for next step after 12-0 league run
Most coaches don’t want their players making grandiose proclamations. And they certainly don’t want five players making such statements at the same time.
Gregori High School softball coach Alannah Johns couldn’t wait for her seniors to do just that. In her third season coaching varsity, Johns has been waiting for her seniors to realize, for themselves, just how good they can be.
So what was the coaching staff’s reaction when the seniors said they not only planned to win the Modesto Metro Conference but intended to do so by going undefeated?
“We were, like, ‘It’s about time,’ ” Jaguars assistant Brei Castilleja said. “This team is so talented, and it has that ability. For them to tell us, we knew they believed it and that this could happen.”
But setting a goal to go unbeaten is one thing. To actually do it is another.
Our main goal was to go 12-0. Anything we do in the playoffs is like a cherry on top. But we go into the postseason wanting to win, and we’ll have the same mentality that we had in league.
Gregori senior second baseman Nikki Alexander
“With this group, whatever they say, they mean it. They back it up,” Johns said. “When they told us they wanted to go undefeated, we sort of got chills.”
Gregori (15-6) wrapped up its second MMC championship and a perfect record (12-0) – the first in the school’s brief history – by beating Downey 8-2 last week behind three home runs from senior Madison Marsh, who’s also the team’s ace (13-5).
Marsh, first baseman Cocoa Stewart, second baseman Nikki Alexander, third baseman Jasmine Temple and reserve outfielder Ezabel Castro are the seniors on the roster.
“We’ve all grown up together,” said Temple, who will play at Iona in New Rochelle, N.Y..
Marsh, Alexander and Stewart have been on the varsity four years.
“As freshmen, we had no confidence in ourselves whatsoever,” said Stewart, who will play at Dakota State in Madison, S.D.
“But we’ve built up confidence along the way,” said Alexander, who will play at Saint Mary’s. “We’ve all matured as players and people, and that’s helped us a lot.”
On Thursday, Gregori looks to take the next step as a program: a deep run in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I playoffs.
We’re coming together as a team. We’ve had a lot of players come up to the varsity this year, and we’ve had to get used to playing with people who weren’t here last year.
Gregori senior outfielder Ezabel Castro
The sixth-seeded Jaguars open against No. 11 Franklin of Elk Grove at 6 p.m. at the Sacramento Softball Complex (Field 2).
No. 13 Enochs (13-7), the MMC runner-up, takes on No. 4 Merced (19-5), champion of the Central California Conference, at 5 p.m. on Field 4.
Of course, expectations come with a 12-0 league record.
“We’re coming together as a team,” said Castro, who will attend UC Santa Cruz, which doesn’t field a softball team. “We’ve had a lot of players come up to the varsity this year, and we’ve had to get used to playing with people who weren’t here last year.”
The seniors don’t worry about what will happen next.
“Our main goal was to go 12-0,” Alexander said. “Anything we do in the playoffs is like a cherry on top. But we go into the postseason wanting to win, and we’ll have the same mentality that we had in league.”
And whether they win a blue banner or are upset in the opener, they know their time together at Gregori is coming to a close.
“We try to avoid thinking about that,” said Marsh, who will play at Delaware.
“We’re just coming out here and spending time with friends,” Castro added. “And playing the game we love.”
Joe Cortez: 209-578-2380, @ModBeePreps
This story was originally published May 18, 2016 at 4:16 PM with the headline "Gregori softball team ready for next step after 12-0 league run."