By Jasmine Alfaro
Staff Writer
Today at 3:15 p.m., the Gabrielino High School varsity softball team will take on the Marshall Fundamental Secondary School (MFSS) Eagles at home.
The last time GHS played MFSS took place earlier in the season when the Lady Eagles beat their opponents in a 14-6 blowout on Marshall’s field.
Now, Gabrielino softball looks to repeat the same success they experienced on their on turf.
To prepare for their second game in three days, the girls have been following a rigid practice schedule set up by their coach.
Regular team practices start from 3:30 p.m. and end at 5:30 p.m., with the exercise regimens varying from batting to pitching to fielding nearly each day of the week. The girls also focus on balancing their offense and defense with live games.
Last week, GHS had no set games, but dedicated their time by committing to intense practices during the break.
“This season is pretty calm, as there is no powerhouse team,” stated Coach Andrea King “There’s not a guarantee of who is going to win this season, any of these teams can win.”
The Lady Eagles remain headstrong and optimistic about advancing this season, despite the four league losses that they have suffered so far.
“We are all very close. We just need to be there for each other all the time,” stated junior Giselle Samano. “I believe everyone has a special quality to them and that’s what makes us a great team.”
Two days ago, the Lady Ea- gles faced off against Rosemead High School at home. Scores were unavailable at press time.
On April 10, in an away league game against Mountain View High School (MVHS), the varsity girls almost snatched a close win, but ended up with a 0-3 loss. Most of the players experienced an off day against the Vikings, as it reflected in a lower than usual team batting average of 0.254.
Before playing MVHS, Gabrielino took on El Monte High School at home on April 7. The game resulted in a defeat for the Lady Eagles, 5-10.
In a game against South El Monte High School on April 5, Gabrielino jumped out to an early 8-5 lead in four innings, but the lead slowly slipped away as GHS lost narrowly, 8-9.
Senior Amanda Morales said that the losses were due to the need for better team cooperation.
In the third game of the season, Gabrielino softball suffered another defeat, this time against the Arroyo High School Knights, 9-5.
Before the win against Marshall on March 29, the Lady Eagles played RHS in their first game of the season, resulting in an victory of 14-1 and forcing the Panthers to forfeit just after five innings of play.
