Trinity softball’s season-opener against Oakwood on Thursday afternoon provided fresh starts at multiple spots on the field.
For one, Catie Robertson pitched her first full varsity game for the Knights, recording four strikeouts in the team’s 21-8 loss to the Gorillas.
“I was impressed with what she did on the mound today in her first long game,” said coach Craig Massetto. “It’s the first time she’s been expected to pitch five or six innings. She did a great job for her first time out.”
When it came to hitting, sophomore Emma Cunningham had the chance to put her hard work in the offseason to the test. Cunningham borrowed a bownet, a bat and a bucket of balls, then hacked away, hitting about 100 cuts every day for most of the summer.
Against Oakwood, she logged a single and an RBI double in the second and third innings, respectively.
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“I just wanted to give it my all and so I was proud of my swings because last year … I felt my batting was not as good,” said Cunningham. “But this year I feel like I had practice over the summer and I did well when we did the pitching machine (yesterday at practice), so I felt like I did pretty good today.”
Trinity found itself in a bind early on, with the Gorillas rattling off nine runs in the first inning.
The Knights found some momentum, scoring four runs across the second and third inning, then another three in the fifth inning, but Oakwood proved to be too much.
With several preleague opponents slated for the coming weeks, including AGBU of Winnetka, Holy Family of Glendale and Saddleback Valley Christian of San Juan Capistrano, fine-tuning the fundamentals is a priority for the Knights.
The team has also had only a little over a week of practices together, so Massetto is still toying with the lineup and field positions to find the right combination of talent.
“I’ve only been with some of these girls two practices, so I’m still getting to know them,” the coach said. “So far a great group of girls that are all really positive, they all have good attitudes, so I think we’re in for a fun season no matter what.”
