back to back

swing batter swing:
Another U-Prep batter goes down swinging as Jaguar catcher Kaeleigh Forbes frames the pitch.

Despite graduating over half of last years 9-1 championship squad, the Pacheco Jaguars Junior High Softball team stepped back up to the plate, repeating the 9-1 record and remaining the reining champs of the Shasta Valley League.

The feat was one that even surprised Jags coach Marvin Briggs.

"If you would have asked me back in February what our chances were for another title, I probably would have given the answer that we hoped to be competitive, but we're basically going to be in a rebuilding year," Briggs said.

Pacheco's softball team had only four eighth-graders on this team and five of the girls are sixth-graders.

After starting out the season with a sloppy 13-8 win over Happy Valley, the Lady Jaguars quickly found themselves on the losing end of a 9-3 game with the Berrendos Matadors. That game would prove to be their only loss of the season.

"Our first couple of games were pretty hard on the girls," said Briggs. "Between the weather and field conditions at Pacheco, our kids hadn't even been on a softball diamond when we played those first two away games and it really showed. We were a pretty rough squad. There is a big difference between playing ball and just working out in a gym."

The young team slowly gelled and, as they learned Briggs' system, their confidence grew.

"Our games are typically built around putting the ball in play combined with aggressive base running. We like to take the game out of the hands of the opposing pitcher and make the rest of their defense concentrate on making plays and covering bases. It's a small-ball type of philosophy that gets everyone involved. People like the big hit or home run but, for me, solid base running and a sound defense is where it's at," the coach said.

After the Berrendos loss, the Jags ran through the next three league games- dishing out 10 run mercy-rule losses to the Mistletoe, Evergreen, and Happy Valley squads to set up the eventual rematch with the Matadors.

"The kids were pumped-up for our home game against Berrendos. They really wanted to avenge that early loss and they came out very determined," said Briggs. "We scored first in the second inning, added two more in the third and another in the fifth to finish with a 4-0 win. Lindsay Davis threw an outstanding game for us limiting their team to only one hit while striking out ten."

The Jags didn't let up during the second half of the season with even more mercy-rule victories over Mistletoe and U-Prep and then beating Evergreen in a tough 5-2 affair with Davis throwing another one-hitter in the contest.

"We played some very good games after that first loss. For the season, we averaged close to fourteen runs per game while giving up just over two - a number I'm very proud of them for. Lindsay pitched some amazing games and our other two pitchers, Celena Ragsdale and Nicky Briggs, threw some great innings themselves," the coach reported. "Celena and first baseman Makenzie Arbiso also provided us with some key hits along the way this year.

"This, as much as any team I've coached here, was a total team effort and everyone on this squad contributed throughout the entire season," said Briggs.

Other members of the championship Jaguar team included Hailey Zeis, Hunter Sande, Faith Klocke, Kaeleigh Forbes, Coral Bollinger, Shea McCall, Sierra Flesuras, Cicily Ragsdale, and Kyndra Harris.