SMHS SOFTBALL
The Rattlers are back on thThe Rattlers are back on the softball field and are looking to improve from last season for a trip back into the playoffs.
Head Coach Cathy Stoughton is ready for the start of the regular season with the Rattlers having just two juniors and the majority of the roster being sophomores and freshmen.
“I’m so excited to get started,” Stoughton said. “We have a lot of depth, some speed and a lot of youth again. We’re gonna be very young. We don’t have any seniors, so we got a lot of freshmen [and] sophomores in and a few juniors. So we got a group that’s gonna be together for a while. … The sophomores and the juniors come in with varsity experience from last year.
“We will be in really good shape this year if we can stay healthy. We have a chance to make a run.”
A strength for the Rattlers this year will be pitching depth with the rotation being headed up by junior Adelaida Sierra.
“Someone like Addie on the mound makes a difference because she’s such a big presence,” Stoughton said. “We also have Jaylen back. She pitched for us last year and had some really good innings in the circle, and then we got a freshman. So we have some pitching depth.”
Last season, Sierra tied the school record for most strikeouts in a single game with 18. With two years of varsity experience, Sierra is ready for the next step.
“It’s a good spot to be in because we know what she’s capable of,” Stoughton said. “We know what she can do, and she’s a competitor. She has two years of varsity experience under her belt, and we still get it for two [more] years.”
Sierra has also battled the injury bug in the past two seasons as well. Now fully healthy, Sierra will look to make her mark.
“I’m looking for this to be a really special season for her,” Stoughton said. “She works really hard and she’s due. She’s had to battle some injuries the last couple years. And we’re hoping that she has a fully healthy season so she can really show what she can do.”
Another strength for the Rattlers this season will be speed, something the team lacked last season and will look to take advantage of this year.
“We have some speed,” Stoughton said. “We’ve got a lot more speed than we’ve had in the past, so I think that’s definitely gonna be a bonus for us.”
With the balanced attack both offensively and defensively, the Rattlers are shaping up to have a bounceback year after two seasons of missing the playoffs.
“I feel like we will pretty much be good on both sides of the ball,” Stoughton said. “We’ve got offense and defense. I feel we’ve got everything we need. Of course every team has weak spots here and there, but we’re in a really good spot with where we are right now. We have a good mix of having a little bit of every dimension that you wanna have strength, speed, power, softball [and] IQ pitching. I think that we have a little bit of all that this year.”
Though the Rattlers are talented on both sides of the ball, team chemistry will be crucial for San Marcos’ success.
The ability to trust each other and the cohesion between teammates is an element of success that the Rattlers will focus on.
“Team chemistry is almost a cornerstone of your success,” Stoughton said. “You can have all the talent in the world being an All-Star team, and you can still fail if there’s no cohesion. Having that chemistry, you know each other and your personnel. That’s the difference between a centerfielder and the shortstop and the second baseman, knowing who’s the quickest and who’s got the best jump on the ball. You know who you have around you, and you trust them.
“Trust is a big thing too when you have good team chemistry. You trust each other, you have faith in each other, and I think that’s definitely key for any team. We’re moving in a good direction with that right now with what we have.”
With the Rattlers having played through a couple of scrimmages, Stoughton is happy with what she has seen.
“The way we’re running the base, hitting the ball, making contact and we’ve made some good defensive plays,” Stoughton said. “For us talking about the trust element is that sometimes with us again being young, just make sure that we learn how to trust everybody on the field, re-gardless of what lineup we have. With the depth that we have, every lineup gonna be competitive.”
The hunt for the postseason will not be an easy one for the Rattlers. With the addition of Buda Johnson and New Braunfels Canyon to the district, the race for the postseason will once again be battled week in and week out, though Stoughton is confident in her squad.
“It’s a super tough district,” Stoughton. “Canyon is a perennial state powerhouse, and Johnson was district champs up in Austin a couple years ago; and they’re very competitive. It will be the same as it was last year where you have two games separating second and sixth. It’s gonna be a dog fight, and we’re gonna have to show up every night.
“But we’re very capable of competing with everybody in our district so it’s gonna be fun to watch. Hopefully, we come out on the positive end of things more often than not, but I am pretty confident about how we’re playing and the ability we have.”
San Marcos starts the season tonight at home against the Bastrop Bears. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. at Rattler Softball Stadium.
cmcwilliams @sanmarcosrecord.com Twitter: @ColtonBMc
