Success leaves with sophomores

After having the best record in Contra Costa College softball history last season the Comets hoped to improve this year, but thus far have struggled to find their first win of the season.

Softball coach Otis Yelverton’s second year coaching this team is off to a bad start, and his squad is currently 0-15 overall. Inexperienced players are among reasons for the struggles. The Comets also lost the core of the team, which were sophomore players.

“We lost 10 players this season, one transferred and some decided not to play,” Yelverton said. “We have some players on the team who never played softball before.”

The majority of the softball team’s roster is freshman players who have never played a game of softball in their life. There are only two sophomore players on the current roster.

“Our weakness right now is youth,” Yelverton said. “We are young, unlike last year when the team had a bunch of sophomore players.”

The Comets are struggling defensively, and have problems catching the ball, which create bad plays that lead to errors. CCC’s errors are starting to decline in each game but the team is still trying to find ways to win. Comet infielder Madisen Williams said that they have to work on defense, fielding the ball and communicating with each other.

“Our weakness is defense. We are not catching the ball,” Gordon said. “I want to catch all the balls that come my way.”

The softball team members are a bunch of untested players but they have been getting better and been trying to build chemistry with each other.

Yelverton said that they have been improving every week and that is the goal right now.

“Right now all we are trying to do is get better,” he said. “When you have women who have never played together it’s hard for them to find chemistry.”

To improve defensively the Comets practice every day trying to catch and locate the ball. CCC is lacking skills on defense but hope the defensive focus in practice will help.

“(To improve on defense) we run drills where we watch the ball go into our gloves and practice hard and play hard,” Gordon said.

Comet players have not overlooked the state playoffs even though they have a slim chance to make it — first they have to learn to work together to get the first win of the season.

“I expect us as to come together as a team and be a cohesive unit to hopefully get some wins,” Williams said. “And to make the state playoffs.”

The first Bay Valley Conference game is a doubleheader against Los Medanos College on Thursday.

The Comets said they want to approach these upcoming conference games professionally especially coming into the games without a win.

“I want to do the best I can for the team, which would be hitting the ball and fielding well,” Comet pitcher/infielder Kaitlin Oshiro said. “I hope we come out strong.”  
Even though the Comets have not won a game this season they still have a chance to turn their season around by winning conference games.

“We are going to find a group of players who play well together to play these upcoming conference games,” Yelverton said.