Rose Garden Resident
Sports
Lincoln chasing league softball crown
By Brad Wall
With seven starters returning from last season's team, the Lincoln girls softball team is poised to take the next step from merely being a winning team to being a championship team.
"We're looking to take the West Valley Division this year and move up to the Santa Teresa and see how we compete there," said Lions head coach Hank Wallis.
If the Lions are to achieve their lofty goals, it will take a total team effort to carry them there.
Leading the way on the mound is junior pitcher Vira Vohdnawoicc, who already has a one-hitter under her belt with a 2-0 victory over Overfelt last Thursday.
"The only hit was in the first inning with two outs," said Wallis.
Of course, every good pitcher has a good catcher to lean on, and Vohdnawoicc is no different, as she has catcher Lulu Valle to count on with every pitch.
Along with the pitching talents of Vohdnawoicc, the Lions also have a very talented infield to lean on.
Third baseman Makenna Austin, sophomore shortstop Chloe Larussa, freshman second baseman Kayla Cauallero and junior first baseman Elisabeth Garbe make up the infield which Wallis calls one of the keys to his team.
With the infield stars and Reyna Maldnoda swinging what Wallis calls "the hottest bat on the team," the Lions are prepared to challenge Overfelt and Silver Creek for league supremacy.
"The kids played very well against Overfelt, and we had two very good games with [Silver Creek last season]," said Wallis, who added that no team in the Blossom Valley Athletic League's West Valley Division can be overlooked.
The Lions are also fortunate to have the senior leadership of Amy Rhoades and the versatile Carina Gomez.
More than anything, though, according to Wallis the Lions are the embodiment of the word team, as he describes them as a good squad with players that all get along and, most importantly, have fun playing the game.
"This is one of the best group of players I've ever coached," said Wallis. "The kids enjoy doing what they're doing; I'm excited about this year with this team."
Lions roaring
Veteran coach Stu Piraro has his Lions off and running in the 2007 season, and they ran away with an 8-2 victory over James Lick last week to push their record to 3-0 in the West Valley Division of the BVAL.
Scott Healy singled and tripled to drive in two runs, and K.C. Rose was the winning pitcher as the Lions rolled over the Comets.
Lincoln broke open a scoreless game with a six-run rally in the third inning. Lick scored a run each in the top of the fifth and sixth innings, but the Lions answered each run in the bottom of the two frames.
The Lions came back to face a solid Silver Creek club on Friday, but the two clubs had to quit in an 8-8 tie when darkness set in. The Raiders were 2-1 in league play heading into the game.
Lincoln is 4-1 overall this season. The Lions opened the year with a 6-3 victory over Balboa of San Francisco, then lost 11-10 to Cupertino in a slugfest. Max Lawrence had two hits and knocked in three runs in the win over Balboa.
The Lions opened West Valley play with three straight wins before finishing in a no-decision against Silver Creek last week. Lincoln pounded Andrew Hill 13-3 and whipped Gunderson 15-3 before beating Lick last week.
Lincoln was to face Yerba Buena on March 14 and will host Overfelt on March 16 before heading to Hills on March 23 to open the second round of the league season. All games begin at 3:30 p.m.
