Despite cutting its season short with four games remaining, the
Gavilan College softball squad received two All-Coast Conference
honors with freshmen Kristine Miles and Ashley Magano named to the
second team.
Despite cutting its season short with four games remaining, the Gavilan College softball squad received two All-Coast Conference honors with freshmen Kristine Miles and Ashley Magano named to the second team.
“I was very pleased that both Kristine and Ashley received second team All-Conference honors,” said head coach Tim Kenworthy of the cousins. “They were both very deserving and it’s great for our program.”
Miles, the Lady Rams’ starting shortstop out of Live Oak High School, hit .429 in conference play (12-for -28) with two doubles, one triple, and seven RBIs. Overall, Miles hit .400 (22-for-55) with two doubles, two triples and eight RBIs, and had a .509 slugging percentage.
“Kristine is a very hard worker who just played great for us all season long, even though she suffered two serious injuries, which caused her to miss a handful of games,” Kenworthy said. “Even when she was injured, she was at practice observing, learning, and helping out anyway she could.”
In Gavilan’s last game against Cabrillo, after coming back from a severe ankle sprain, MIles was 4-for-4 with two RBI’s and scored the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh after tripling deep to right center field.
“Kristine was our team leader and our most consistent performer at the plate and in the field,” said Kenworthy of his sure-handed infielder who held a .933 fielding percentage. “Her success was directly related to her own dedication, determination, and desire to improve each day she was on the field.”
Magana, the Lady Rams’ starting catcher, who prepped at Del Mar High School in San Jose, hit .361 in conference and .292 overall. In conference, she collected 13 hits, including two doubles and a triple, and had seven RBIs. Overall, Magana had 19 hits, two doubles, a triple, and 10 RBIs.
“Ashley continued to improve both behind the plate and in the batter’s box as the season progressed,” Kenworthy said. “Once we convinced her to widen her stance and stay back, she just started ripping the cover off the ball.”
Gavilan won two of its last three games played and Magana was a major reason for the team’s surge. Magana accumulated eight hits in 10 trips to the plate for an .800 batting average. She went 2-for-3 with 2 RBIs and two runs scored against Foothill, 2-for-3 against San Francisco City, and 4-for-4 with 2 RBIs against Cabrillo – including the game-winning hit.
“I was very pleased with Ashley’s dedication and commitment,” Kenworthy said. “She made huge personal sacrifices in driving down here from San Jose everyday to attend school and play softball for us.”
Magana and Miles were two bright spots for the Gavilan College softballs quad – which was forced to forfeit its final four games of the season under the orders of Athletic Director Ron Hannon. The reasoning behind the move was there was a possiblity of not having enough players to field a team.
While College President Steven Kinsella backed Hannon’s move, Kenworthy did not think the season should have been prematurely ended.
The Lady Rams had won eight games up to that point.
