Feature Photo By: Izzy Honey – Junior Yamilet Corral throws a pitch against the Far Northeast Warriors. The Raiders won the game 15-5 crushing their opponents.
Home runs here we come. This year’s varsity team is kicking it into gear, bigger and better than before. With Paul Reil going onto his third year as a softball coach at Rangeview and Dennis Fox providing his twenty years of experience, the Raiders are bound for success.
Although losing their first game against East High School 14-8, they quickly made a comeback against the Far Northeast Warriors 15-5 this past Tuesday.
“I think we really put ourselves together,” stated junior Jordan Clanton, the second team captain of the varsity team.
Both the players and the coaches have a positive outlook for this season, claiming that the team is better now than in previous years.
“This year I feel like we’re doing a lot better because we’re communicating clearly, we’re getting along and I just think we’re making that chemistry early on in the season rather than later,” said the first captain, senior Mireya Marquez.
Marquez has been playing softball since she was in the eighth grade and is confident that this year they will break the mold. With half of the team being returning varsity players, experience at such a competitive level will be invaluable to their success.
Despite only having two seniors and a majority underclassmen on the team, coach Fox says, “We got a very good chance to make it this year for the first time in a long time despite the young team and if we do it now we are only gonna get better.”
While maintaining their confident outlook, the team also recognizes that they have plenty to work on before they stand a chance in the playoffs. Executing the fundamentals proficiently is a large focus of the softball team.
“I feel like it’s gonna come down too how well we hit and how well we make simple plays in the infield,” Jordan Clanton pointed out. “Simple mistakes could sometimes be our weakness.”
This past Saturday against Arapahoe, the Raiders lost 20-0. Today they will play against a long-time rival, the Overland Blazers at 4:30pm.
Click the link below to see their schedule and scores: http://www.maxpreps.com/high-schools/rangeview-raiders-(aurora,co)/softball-fall/home.htm
