Bulldogs want to grow up fast this spring
MORGAN HILL — As a freshman starter on the varsity softball team at Sobrato High School, Nicole Larson was treated like any of her teammates. The older ones helped her find her niche during the 2008 season, when she batted .478 and became a first-team all-league selection at second base, and Larson hasn’t forgotten.
Now, she’s the one being a mentor. Larson is a rarity once again as an upper-class veteran. Half of her team’s roster comprises underclassmen — three sophomores, three freshman — and each of them started in nonleague play.
“I try to help them as much as I can,” Larson said last week. “Sometimes they’ll come up to me and ask for help. This is all new to them. It’s good to be helpful. The older girls did the same for us.”
Choosing Larson and Frankie Kellett, the team’s lone senior, as his captains was an easy decision for first-year coach Gene Ciraulo.
“I’ve had to rely on them a lot,” he said. “They’re both great players, but their maturity is the most impressive part. They have very committed attitudes. It’s rubbed off onto the younger players.”
For more reasons that one, there is no pressure on the Lady Bulldogs to outdo themselves this spring. They approached the 2009 season with lofty expectations, having several key starters back from a team that finished third in the Santa Teresa Division a year before. Instead of winning their program’s first league championship as they hoped, injury-strapped SHS finished seventh.
“We’re pumped up a lot, but we’re not setting our standards too high,” said Larson, who batted .456 with a team-high 31 hits in 2009. “We did that last year, and it didn’t work out at all. It really hurt our confidence. This year, we just hope to keep our confidence up. If we do that, we can do anything.”
As young as the team is, Sobrato’s infield appears well rounded. Larson is back at shortstop, where she earned first-team honors as a sophomore, and will work closely with two second-year starters, junior second baseman Kaley Lefore and sophomore Nicole Kiles who has shifted from second to first. Sophomore Heather Johnson starts at third base and is batting lead-off.
“Our strategy calls for both corners to be quick. That’s why we switched Nicole in at first,” Ciraulo said. “She has adjusted very well.”
Kellett, who drove in 13 runs and batted .338 as a second-team all-league third baseman last year, is in the circle this spring. She has joined starting pitcher Katie Machado, an off-speed specialist, in the rotation, and will deal to first-year catcher Kallie Klinger, who took over a position vacated by current first-base coach Allyson Stoner. Though a freshman, Klinger has impressed.
“She’s got very good skills,” Ciraulo said. “She’s a good hitter and a great fielder. Last week, she picked off a runner at second.”
Kellett’s move to the circle will provide rest for Machado. She shouldered most of the pitching duties as a sophomore in 2009 after starter Danielle Clampett injured her throwing arm early in the season.
“For having not pitched since rec ball, Frankie’s actually looking really good,” Larson said. “We don’t have that many pitchers, so she’s much appreciated.”
Things get greener in the outfield. Sophomore Samantha Ribeiro plays center between two freshmen: Jasmine Caskey in right, and Taylor Di Sibio in left. Junior Emilie Nunez also plays right field.
“Our strategy is pretty traditional in the outfield. We want speed in center, good arm strength in center and left and quickness in right,” Ciraulo said. “The girls we have out there have what we need.”
Sobrato is battle tested going into Wednesday’s 3:30 p.m. division opener against visiting Mount Pleasant. The Bulldogs’ nonleague slate included losses to four private schools — but a program-first win against Live Oak in an exhibition that was called because of darkness.
“Our confidence is still pretty high,” Larson said. “We’ve played some tough teams, but we’ll be ready for league.”
