By Kyle LoJacono
The Sunlake softball program has never had a junior varsity (JV) team before this season, but that did not stop the inaugural squad from completing a 13-0 season.
“I thought we’d have a good year, but I didn’t think we’d be able to win every game,” said pitcher Danielle Micciche. “After our first couple of games we knew we had a chance to be really good.”
JV softball is not only new to Sunlake, but the squad’s coach Kelly Sayre had never taught the sport at that level.
“I wanted them to know the game and the different strategies,” Sayre said. “Softball has a ton of strategy involved, both offensively and defensively. I didn’t have any set record we were going for. I wanted it to be fun for the girls and educational. They have a great varsity team to look up to and follow in their footsteps. I stepped into something really good because we have some great players here.”
The varsity squad has a 17-3 record, the most wins in a season for the program.
“We try to come out and give it our all,” said first baseman Alexis Perez. “Then we see how well varsity is doing too and it’s more encouragement. We want to live up to their standards.”
Micciche, who features a curveball and screwball, was the only pitcher for the JV Seahawks.
Statistics for JV are not as accurately kept as with varsity, but most of the players agreed the squad’s hitting has been a big part of their success. Another part of their perfect season has been the chemistry.
“After a couple games I saw how we were working as a team,” Perez said. “It’s really been about teamwork. We’ve bonded outside of the school, which helped us learn more about each other. There’s no drama at all.”
The varsity team has six seniors, all of whom have signed scholarships to play softball in college.
“Having a good JV team is definitely going to help us fill in for the seniors we’ll lose,” said Sunlake varsity coach Jami Finan. “Looking ahead three years this group of freshmen will be the seniors for us.”
Shortstop Nikki Taylor was the first JV player to move up to varsity about halfway through the year. She was joined by third baseman Mikayla Cochran, center fielder Amber Cole and Micciche after the JV season.
“As far as next season, a lot of these players will move up,” Sayre said. “It’ll be like starting from scratch next year. The good thing is there’s a lot of interest in the program. I know some eighth graders at Rushe who want to join and hopefully we’ll have another solid team next year.”
One thing seems certain. The Seahawks have pipeline of young softball players ready to show the area what they can do.
“I think the school should be known for softball,” Cole said. “Varsity has been really good this year and we didn’t lose a game. If we keep winning and getting better, people will think of Sunlake when they think of softball.”
