The Serra Cavaliers softball team showed how prepared they are to defend their division seven Southern Section championship. On Thursday, they committed the season sweep of their rivals, the St. Bernard Vikings with a 15-0 victory.
Serra currently has a 16-2 overall record and has gone undefeated in the Santa Fe League. Power hits, crafty steals and a lack of errors were key to the Cavaliers’ success.
“Hopefully, we can just do what we did last year and win it all,” said Cavaliers junior Rebekah Hall. “As a team, we’re just continuing to work together and just play hard.”
The Cavaliers came out the gates with a high competitive energy as pitcher Victoria Brown struck out two batters in the first inning. When it was Serra’s turn to be at bat, they scored five points.
Only five Vikings were at bat before being forced to the outfield in the second inning. Vikings pitcher Kyla Ward struck out one batter although Serra scored four more points.
“Sometimes I get in my head too much, so that’s when I started pitching balls,” Ward said. “I just want to give the girls who are [in] their first year a chance to get a win, so I keep that in mind so I can pitch better.”
MyKaila Fleming made the first homerun of the game for the Cavaliers, edging their score to 10 at the bottom of the third. Next up was Lauryn Carter, who batted a triple. Camille Williams and Kimmia Saunders earned an RBI each after hitting singles.
Freshmen Zaire Joseph ended St. Bernards’ time at bat with a double play in the fourth inning. With two Cavaliers on bases, Hall smacked the ball far into center field for a three-run homer. This cemented the Cavaliers at 15 points.
“I wanted to make up for my mistakes, like striking out,” Joseph said about executing the double play. “Good fielding from practice helped me out to understand where to get them out in the game.”
The Cavaliers will have their final home game of the season against the Cantwell-Sacred Heart of Mary on Monday, April 15.
