North Hollywood’s 2023-24 Softball season is off to a challenging and eventful start.
Huskies had their official preseason opener on Feb. 15, 2024 against Northridge academy. Despite Huskies strength in out-hitting Northridge’s Pumas, they were unable to keep up with base running. Resulting in their loss, 1-6.
Number 33, Samantha Zabalza was selected player of the game for the conference against Northridge Academy. Zabalza had 3 hits throughout the game, being the highest on the team. As well a 1.0 fielding percentage, getting one out, and one assist.
Zabalza expresses her appreciation for the title, she says “I feel honored being named player of the game. I felt like I play[ed] hard that game and gave it my all.”
Though they faced a tough first loss, they made their comeback in their next encounter on the diamond.
On Feb. 17, 2024 Huskies Softball competed in a neutral tournament in Hawthorne, Los Angeles. Their first game was scheduled for 11:15 am against Canoga Park, and started off strong with a win, 8-1. Both Ayla Soto [#10] and Ellison Hinnen [#34] scored two runs throughout the game.
Hinnen had been a praised player during the conference as she drove in four runs on three hits to give Huskies their winning lead. She had tripled in the fifth inning, singled in the first and hit a solo home run in the fourth.
Hinnen expresses her love and dedication for the sport, “I don’t look at my stats or recaps too much but if I do it’s nice to see your name at the top of the leaderboard. I have been playing this game year round since I was about five years old. Now, I play competitively and I go to lessons weekly. I want to continue to play in college so it is nice to have encouragement from my team and see it in the stats. I couldn’t do it without my teammates.”
Huskies’ hard work throughout the game was applauded by their victory. They carried this confidence into the next scheduled game at 2:45 p.m. against South East High School.
However, there had been some miscommunication on the field with the home team and field supervisors.
Despite the miscommunication, Huskies and South East still had a scheduled hour left to begin their game. Instead, South East “feared” Huskies as they backed down from participating in the conference.
Huskies took it upon themselves to view the difficulties as a victory.
The following Friday, Feb. 23, Huskies faced a close game against Faith Baptist. Huskies unfortunately lost 5-9.
Number 6, Katherine Jurado summarizes the game, “Our game against Faith Baptist was equally good and bad. We made a good handful of errors that we shouldn’t have made against a team like them….We were slow at the beginning and then we pick[ed] it up at the end and made a comeback that sets the team off.”
Zabalza recognizes the errors and explains, “I know there’s some areas that we still need work in but other than that I honestly do believe we play really good as a team.”
Mistakes don’t define Huskies, they take it as an opportunity to better themselves not only personally but as a team.
Jurado continues to recap the game, “I feel that game we were a lot more alert which was great but like always, the game comes with little mistakes. Something I did notice was the adrenaline we got because we started doing well. It brought good and bad plays but not only for the players but from the coach. We lost a run because our coach got excited and lost focus. All in all, although the game ended 5-9 I believe we played well and we could’ve caught up if the other coach allowed us to play for one more inning.”
The next day Huskies faced Heritage Christian and Hawthorne High schools during the neutral tournament on Feb. 24.
Huskies had lost both games, 5-12 v. Heritage Christian and 7-11 v. Hawthorne.
Number 5, Ashley Anguiano-Trujillo remains positive through the loss, she explains, “Although we didn’t win both games, we were able to see what mistakes we need to be able to fix so that it doesn’t happen in our other games. Our team is very united and we always make sure to give feedback on every game we have. We are very excited for a new season and are hoping to make it better than any past season we’ve ever had.”
Huskies are taking advantage of each pre-season game in order to gain realistic practice and learn from errors before league games.
Hinnen sums up her feelings about being on the team, “I love this team. All the girls are great. We work together and bond throughout the season. Being around them brings me joy and makes me better. The only downside is seeing the seniors graduate. Seeing the people you look up to leave is hard.”
Huskies continue to encourage one another as they are in preparation for their comeback against Faith Baptist on March 4, 2024.
