SALAMANCA — After a winless 2019 and no 2020 season at all, the Salamanca softball team is starting to see some results on the field.
The Warriors won consecutive games last week to give coach Keith Jones his first win streak since taking over the program in 2018 (Salamanca was 3-12 in 2018, 0-14 in 2019). The Warriors have put those seasons behind them this season, jumping above .500 last week on with back-to back wins over North Collins, 11-3, and West Valley, 13-1. Salamanca is now 4-3 after a 17-0 loss to Portville on Tuesday and an 18-0 win over Franklinville on Thursday.
Jones said he hoped the Warriors would take a step forward in 2020, but they never got a chance to play due to COVID-19.
“With the season not happening, I kind of expected the same thing coming out of this team (last) year,” Jones said. “Last year we played a lot of summer ball and then a lot of winter ball and it really stunk when it didn’t happen. That work’s paying off right now, they’re starting to see the benefits of it.”
Salamanca junior pitcher Emma Brown has played varsity since seventh grade. Makayla Burch is the team’s lone senior and plays first base, while Emma Brown, Myra Breazeale (utility player), Rylee Grant (3B) and Kierstyn Klahn (2B) are the four juniors. Salamanca has
Makenzie Oakes, Alyssa Perkins, Mariah Downey, Gahsenide Hubbell, Brianna Benjamin, Kortney Deboy and Xaivera Jimerson are listed as sophomores, Emily Brown (catcher/shortstop) is a freshman and Jaelynne Brown is on the roster as an eighth grader.
“Two years ago, we were really young,” Jones said. “We’re still kind of young. We have one senior, so we’re still young and still working to mold a little bit. We lost Jordan Ray, who would have been our starting catcher last year and Emma Fiske was our other pitcher.”
Against North Collins, Emma Brown threw a two-hitter, striking out 11 with no walks. She had nine strikeouts, one walk and allowed two hits against West Valley. She also had big offensive games, with a triple against West Valley and two hits against North Collins.
Emily Brown had a double against West Valley and a home run against North Collins. Oakes and Downey both scored twice against NC.
“I think we’ve started great,” Jones said. “I’ve got my first win streak for Salamanca softball since I’ve been here, our second win in a row, and I think we still haven’t reached our full potential. I told the girls that today.”
What’s the next step toward reaching that potential?
“It’s tough for any team to get through seven innings every game. Consistency, I guess you look for that with any softball or baseball team,” Jones added.
