Second-year coach likes Gavilan’s prospects with returning
veterans
Gilroy – Only one way to go!
After a winless season during which the Gavilan women’s softball team finished with just 11 players, it can only get better.
Still, coach Nikki Dequin-Thompson promises not to judge the success of this season from a won-loss standpoint.
Despite a roster in which she will likely carry only 15 players, Dequin-Thompson believes the team has better depth because of the ability of the women to play multiple positions. In fact, she lists most of her players as utility.
This is Dequin-Thompson’s second season as head coach. A Gilroy High graduate, she played two years at Gavilan and two years at San Jose State as a utility player. She earned her degree in kinesiology at SJSU.
Dequin-Thompson is looking for leadership from Hollister sophomores Julie Boyer and Jennifer McBain.
Boyer will see time as a pitcher and catcher, and possibly even at second base, where she played during the fall. Boyer was recruited by the University of New Mexico out of San Benito. She attended Cabrillo last year where she excelled before deciding to come to Gavilan to be closer to home. Dequin-Thompson believes she will play at the next level.
McBain will start at catcher but will also see duty at pitcher. Dequin-Thompson is impressed with her knowledge of the game. McBain took several years off from college and coached high school in Fresno.
Sophomore centerfielder Meghan Smart from Live Oak is in only her third year of playing softball, but her coach calls her “a little fireball. It’s impressive that in her third year she is able to start at this level.” A left-handed slap hitter, Smart has excellent speed.
Freshman Melissa Gaxiola, who played in the back row on the volleyball team, is a middle infielder with a good bat, arm and speed, according to Dequin-Thompson.
Amanda Rosevear, a freshman third baseman from Live Oak, and Jessica McClelland, a sophomore from Morgan Hill who didn’t play in high school, also figure in the mix. Rosevear is ticketed for duty at third base and McClelland is a utility player.
Dequin-Thompson has large expectations from freshman first baseman-pitcher Hayli Cloud, who should provide a big bat in the middle of the lineup.
Freshman middle infielders Amanda Perez and Andrea Castaneda should see playing time as should Gilroy freshmen Neisa Ceballos, a pitcher, and Angelina Fernandez, utility. And Dequin-Thompson is hoping Tiffany McIntosh can bounce back from torn ligaments in her thumb, which was expected to sideline the utility player eight weeks.
“We’re really looking forward to this season, the coaching staff as well as the girls,” Dequin-Thompson said. “You can see the talent we have. Everyone wants to play and loves the game.
“We have a really good group here. The mix of veterans should help a lot. We just want the girls to play the best that they can. I think we’ve reached a turning point. It’s pretty exciting to be part of that.”
