Sports
Coach Marshall's Renegades won't back down on softball field
Resilient, pitching-rich team headed for eight-team CCCAA State Championship at Mt. SAC
Ohlone softball coach Julie Marshall loves to talk about her team’s resilience. After all, the Renegades have overcome a major injury and decreasing numbers to stand among the state’s elite.
The main reason for the rise? Through the adversity has come strength. The team’s 15 remaining players have refused to back down.
“Absolutely, we’ve been through a lot as a team,” Marshall said Wednesday. “We’ve overcome a lot of adversity, which has really helped us become stronger on the field. It’s helped us to where we are today.”
And where they are is mighty impressive.
The Renegades (34-12), the North #3, will face host Mt. San Antonio College (37-7), the South #2, Thursday at 11 a.m. in Game 1 of the eight-team 2018 CCCAA Softball State Championship. The winner will face the winner of the North #1 College of San Mateo-South #4 El Camino opener in the four-day, double-elimination tourney.
Ohlone will need its absolute best from here on out.
“Yes, everyone from here on out is going to be competitive. We have to come out strong and leave it all out on the field,” Marshall said.
In the first two rounds of the playoffs, the Renegades did just that. They beat Diablo Valley and Reedley, overcoming defeats in each series with typical steely resolve in Game 3 clinchers.
In the Super Regional, Ohlone fell 3-0 to Reedley before beating the Tigers 7-0 and 5-3. All-NorCal outfielder Meida Tautalatasi had six hits overall from the leadoff spot in the two wins, but the Renegades rose as a team. Karen Didio fired a four-hitter in the 7-0 win, and Holly Gonzales threw 5.2 stellar innings in relief of Didio in the 5-3 win. Left fielder Selena Gomez had two hits and two runs scored in the clinching win, Lauryn Garcia had an RBI double and Didio and Mallory Ussery both had RBI singles.
Even in the 3-0 loss, All-State team pitcher Ana Beard pitched six very strong innings.
“Our pitching was extremely solid; when some kid fell a little short, others were able to pick them up,” says a proud Marshall, a former Amador Valley coach in her second season at Ohlone.
Moreover, Marshall knows she can count on everyone to play with passion. One through 15 on the roster in the playoffs, the Renegades have refused to take no for an answer.