
With another school year winding down, both the baseball and softball teams at Mission Bay High are in the hunt for playoff berths as part of their respective seasons.
On the baseball diamond, head coach Dennis Pugh’s team came into the week with an overall record of 8-9.
According to Pugh, the Bucs have played the toughest part of their schedule. Now in league action, Mission Bay entered this week at 3-1.
Pugh noted top players to date have been Joey Witkowski, Aiden Young, Parker St. Germain, and Jayden Correa
“Our goal is to be above a .500 record for the first time since 2008 and make the CIF playoffs,” Pugh remarked.
He added that the league race looks to be between his Bucs and Clairemont High. Softball
On the softball diamond, Mission Bay entered action this week with a mark of 8-7-2 (5-0 in league play) for head coach Vince Ichihara. The Bucs have beaten the likes of Division III teams Helix and Serra, respectively. Mission Bay also knocked off previously unbeaten and top-ranked Coronado 10-4. Mission Bay has a team batting average of .339 with Cassidy West (.547) and Maya Cota (.418) leading the pack, respectively. Ichihara remarked that Chey Chavez (.390), Kiki Valverde-Flores (.367), Serena Castro (.340) and Cat Griffiths (.303) have all contributed to the offensive attack this season. On the mound, West is second in total strikeouts in San Diego County with 101 on the season, having faced 117 less batters than the leader at 109.
“We started a little slow going 0-4, barely losing games to some good teams, but have since been 8-3-2,” Ichihara remarked.
One of the ties came against third-ranked Division II foe Mount Carmel. The other one was against Division II’s Mira Mesa. “We look to get better each week and learn to take care of the small things within the game,” Ichihara added. “The girls are working hard and it is showing. I’m excited for the rest of the season and watching this team grow together,”Ichihara said.