McCurdy softball lost essentially all of their pitching from a year ago.
In response, in her first full year on varsity, junior Andrea Croff has stepped up to pitch nearly all of the innings for the Bobcats.
“It’s really fun,” Croff said. “I like my team, they’re always uplifting me.”
The McCurdy Bobcats (2-12) lost 18-2 to Santa Rosa (13-4) on April 15. But they came back for a second game with the junior varsity team — largely the same players for McCurdy — and the offense came alive in a 14-11 win.
The year has been tough for a young McCurdy team, who was missing players for the game due to a track meet.
“We’ve been struggling, kind of up and down everywhere,” McCurdy coach Joseph Valdez said. “Once it’s our pitching, once it’s our hitting. We just haven’t been able to get it together, get it all in one.”
In the first game, McCurdy scored in the first inning after a hit by Paola Gonzales and an error helped their aggressive baserunning get a run. But their offense was largely stagnant against Santa Rosa’s strong pitching, until the fourth inning when Esperanza Sandoval hit an RBI single.
Baserunning has been a strength for McCurdy this season — senior Ashlee Arambula ranks ninth in the state in stolen bases.
“It distracts the pitchers and makes the outfield of the other team very nervous,” Croff said.
But Santa Rosa scored twice in the first inning, five times in the second inning, and six more in the third inning. The game ended with a run rule after four innings.
Croff pitched the entire game while battling adversity against a strong lineup.
“Andrea has actually brought a lot of confidence in herself this year,” Valdez said. “We’ve had some good games with her.”
For the second game, officially scored as a junior varsity game, McCurdy trotted out largely the same lineup but with eighth-grader Arianna Maestas pitching.
But after falling down 9-1, McCurdy’s offense found life. They drew seven walks in the second inning, and Arianna Valdez hit a two-run base hit. In the third inning, they scored five more, with Gonzales and Jolene Campion both with RBI hits. And the game was called off in the top of the fourth, due to time and some confusion over the current inning.
“Not just giving them confidence for hits, but for what we have coming up for the future,” Joseph Valdez said. “That’s a good thing to see.”
McCurdy next plays on May 1 at Pecos, and will finish their district schedule at Estancia on May 2.