Local upstarts take fastpitch gold
Softball has a new name in town and an all-star record to tout.
The Hollister J-Hawks 16 and under team just returned from northern
Washington after placing fourth in the Western Region World
Series.
Local upstarts take fastpitch gold
Softball has a new name in town and an all-star record to tout. The Hollister J-Hawks 16 and under team just returned from northern Washington after placing fourth in the Western Region World Series.
“We have only been together a few months. I am proud of my team,” J-Hawk captain Deniece Lujan said.
John Young and Mike Moisa founded the Hollister J-Hawks about three years ago, parting ways with Hollister Heat for unspecified reasons. They formed a girls 14-and-under softball team in a new league. The Heat is in the Amateur Softball Association and the J-Hawks belong to the National Softball Association.
Aside from league differences there is little difference in the makeup of the two teams. “The Heat hand-picks their own team, like us, but we get what they don’t take,” said head coach, Marty Bueno.
Bueno, who had a niece on the original 14-and-under team, started helping the J-Hawks as a batting coach. All the girls quickly began to ask when he was going to go along on the tournaments. “I guess they responded well to me,” Bueno said.
A few months ago, Young and Moisa started another 16-and-under team and asked Bueno to coach. Although he has been coaching for more than 10 years, the J-Hawks was the first girls’ team he coached.
That did not pose any problems for him though.
“Girls tend to listen more but they let their emotions flow more than guys. But guys pretend they know everything when they really don’t. I knew from the first practice that these girls were going to be a great team. They had a lot of talent.” Bueno said.
A good team to be sure. Christina Albright, Jessica Albright, Brianna Alvarez, Anissa Galvan, Katie Kutz, Deniece Lujan, Marissa Moisa, Ashley Sanchez, Breanna Sullivan and Stephanie Young together batting an average of .376 swung their way through four first-place tournament finishes before reaching the nationals in Snohomish, Washington.
The National Softball Association Girls Fastpitch Western Region World Series was July 15-22. A total of 172 teams were represented from Southern California to the Canadian border. The J-Hawks were among 17 other teams in the 16 and under “B” division. “They usually put the new teams in the “B” groups first,” Bueno said.
The good fortune of the past tournaments did not meet them in Washington. “I think the [15-hour] drive to Washington took a lot out of them,” Bueno said.
The J-Hawks were crushed their first two pooling games at Nationals. The first was a 9-1 loss to the Seattle Spice, with only three J-Hawk hits. The second was an 11-3 loss to the Tacoma Speed, again with only three hits.
“After the second game I decided to have a practice and regroup,” Bueno said. “I told them I’ve never coached a losing team so they better step it up.”
And so they did. Game three on was double elimination. With two losses already behind them the J-Hawks were last in their pool. They faced the Washington-based Avalanche who were at the top of their pool ranking. The J-Hawks stopped the Avalanche 2-1, with pitcher and team captain Lujan giving up only three hits.
The fourth game against the second placed Marysville Express was a 2-0 shutout. Lujan gave up two hits.
What appeared to be a budding streak came to an end on game five against the Southern California-centered Attitude, 5-2. “They just killed us that game. We had some big errors,” Bueno said. The Attitude went on to win the World Series.
The J-Hawks quickly shook off the loss and reaffirmed their skill on game six. There, the J-Hawks smashed the Bobcats from Paradise, California, 13-3. The Bobcats had a 2-0 lead in the first inning, but Lujan only allowed three hits the whole game.
By game seven the J-Hawks were in a crisis. The constant double elimination game sweep in 108-degree heat was taking its toll. After the first two losses early in the pooling, Lujan became the sole pitcher during the tournament.
“I had to dig deep and do what my pitching coach had told me to do. I gave everything,” Lujan said.
Game seven, a rematch against the Tacoma Speed, ended with a 4-2 loss. “The two runs were scored in the last inning, and we still had runners on second and third” Bueno said.
Top hitters from the tournament were shortstop Brianna Alvarez (.400), first baseman Jessica Albright (.375), catcher Breanna Sullivan (.350) and second baseman, Christina Albright (.307).
The J-Hawks have a 20-9 record this season. “We left all we could out there. I know we all pulled together as a team and our coaches put us in the right positions and made the right calls,” Sullivan said.
