The 8U Silver all-star softball team out of William S. Hart Baseball and Softball has the mantra, “can’t stop, won’t stop.”
It’s the way that coach Robert Paschal signs off whenever he sends a message out to the team.
“It’s kind of like our little rally cry amongst the parents,” Paschal said in a phone interview.
That rally cry has been heard loud and clear by the players, who finished in third place at the Southern California C State Championships held in Lancaster at the end of June and will compete in Regionals in San Diego during the weekend of July 18.
Nicknamed the “HartThrobs,” the team was one of 44 to qualify for the tournament in Lancaster, competing against the top teams out of the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, Riverside and San Bernardino. There, it claimed a 2-1 victory for the right to move on.
Since being formed at the close of the spring regular season, with players selected via coaches voting, the HartThrobs are 27-4 overall, won three of the six tournaments they played in and have outscored opponents 224-41.
The tournament in San Diego will pit the HartThrobs against the top 32 8U teams in the state.
“It’s special, because, you know, a lot of people work really hard to be in the spot that we’re in and there’s a lot of things that have to go your way to win these games, and so it’s nice to be on the right side of that,” Paschal said. “It’s a testament to the kids, it’s a testament to the families … It’s just really special as a coach and as a father to see the girls go through this and just come out on the right side of it.”
The team consists of: Braelynn Loaney; Cassidy “Cass” Muhilly; Kayley “Kay Boom” Paschal; Delilah Valenzuela; Elle “Flash” Pina ; Harper Susdorf; Kylee “Crusher” Clemente; Mackenzie “Mack Attack” Hill; Makenna “Big Mak” Zamora; Milania Portelli ; Rosie Pfau; and Zoey Bernal.
Coaching the team along with Paschal, who pitched for both the University of Southern California and California State University, Northridge, and is a former minor league baseball player, are: Anthony Portelli; William Muhilly; Josh Zamora; and Laura Vandecar.
The Lancaster tournament came at the onset of a heat wave in Southern California, but after getting through that, Paschal said the team is ready for anything at Regionals. He said the coaches preach to the players that because of how hard they work during the week, there should be no reason for them to doubt if they can be successful during games.
“Our goal every day is we want these kids to feel like they can run through a brick wall,” Paschal said. “So, we talk to them all the time about like, ‘Hey, today is a hard day. You guys practice hard. You’ve earned today. You’ve earned the right to go out there and be successful this weekend because of what you did today.’”
Success hasn’t come from one player, Paschal said. Rather, it’s been everyone contributing from somewhere on the field or in the lineup that has gotten the HartThrobs to where they are, he said.
“These tournaments are stressful, and, you know, as a coach, I just keep waiting for the day where they just don’t have it, you know, or the day where nothing goes our way, things like that,” Paschal said. “But we’ve had games where the top of the lineup doesn’t have it, but yet the bottom of the lineup comes through, or … our defense comes out and makes some great plays.”
The players may be young, but Paschal is hopeful that the lessons they are learning of hard work and discipline will stick with them throughout their lives.
“Sports are so good for kids and, you know, team environment and just teaching them life skills, because you do need to learn how to fail,” Paschal said. “It’s fun to learn how to succeed, but it’s important to learn how to fail. I think some of these kids, just the life lessons — not giving up, working together as a team, understanding that, hey, if you don’t have it today, you got a teammate right there ready to pick you up — I mean, those are all great life lessons.”
