The softball season ended on Thursday but Banning is already eager for next season to start.
The Broncos won’t lose any starters to graduation and will be stacked with talent for the next two seasons.
All of that makes this season bearable. The Broncos lost a handful of heartbreakers and finished with subpar records, going 11-12 overall and 7-8 for a fourth place finish in the Mountain Valley League.
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“It was a big learning experience, from beginning to end,” Banning Coach Maso Lara said. “I saw a lot of maturity it makes us think positive for next season.”
The thought of returning the entire lineup and a new facility to practice year round is exciting, Coach Lara said.
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“It’s been a while since we have had a good, strong program,” Lara said. “But we are coming around.”
At various points during the season the team started between seven and eight freshman and sophomores.
“I think the next two years we can actually have good years,” center fielder Felicity McCafferty said. “We can’t wait to start the next season. It’s nice to be excited like that.”
The team was all smiles after the 9-0 win over Rubidoux. The Broncos completed the season with back-to-back wins.
“I think we were disappointed because we did beat Notre Dame and that was our big game,” Bronco pitcher Laura Becerra said. “It would have been nice to get to the playoffs. I think by our senior season we can do that.”
Banning led 2-0 after two innings and then scored twice in the third, three times in the fourth and finished off with two more runs in the sixth to end it. In all the Broncos produced 10 hits, getting multiple hit games from McCafferty (2 for 4), Becerra (2-4), Rita Catano (2 for 4) and Hannah Bates (2 for 4).
Becerra struck out six batters and scattered four hits to pick up the win.
