Sports

Softball looks for success with new head coach

Head coach Paulette Keeney and assistant coach Ed Smith observing the game at hand

Marcus Guillen, Staff Reporter
March 22, 2016

Tracy’s softball team is looking to repeat its success from recent years. With just four games played, Tracy is 3-1 overall and 1-0 in league play.

Due to the rain in the past couple of weeks, Tracy has only played four games.

With former head coach Greg Smith retiring and moving to Wisconsin, the new head coach for varsity is Paulette Kenney with help from long-time assistant coach Ed Smith.

Keeney coached the freshman level last year and also in past years coached with her husband, Brian Keeney, in Tracy Little League.

Keeney expressed her feeling about the season thus far.

“It’s been good. We did really well against Kimball and we had our first league game at Lodi we won, 11-1.”

Captains are seniors Alisyn Davis, Sonia Reedy, junior Mikayla Coelho, and sophomore Rachel Cid.

Davis has already signed with the University of Delaware. Coelho has verbally committed since her freshman year to the University of California, Berkeley. Cid has verbally committed to the University of Oregon.

“I feel really honored to be captain, especially because I wasn’t expecting it,” Coelho said.

Davis has been playing softball all four years at Tracy High.

“I want to end my career at Tracy High by, hopefully, having a high batting average, getting first place in league, and going far in playoffs,” Davis said.

With the first league game out the way, Keeney does has some expectation going forward.

“

My expectations are to win league, and in order to do that we need to play as a team and get better and better as league goes on

— Head coach Paulette Keeney

,” Keeney said.

Some key games Tracy is looking forward to are against St. Mary’s and West, but will not overlook anyone in such a tough league.

“I’m looking forward to playing against St. Mary’s and West because those will be our toughest opponents in league,” Coelho said.

“I think we still need to come together as a team because I feel we are playing independently, but we are still learning and trying to mesh,” Davis said.

Over the past weekend the team had a team bonding exercise by doing a scavenger hunt to find various objects where there were three groups.

Tracy’s next games are on March 22, and March 24, against St.Mary’s and Lincoln on the road with the first pitch at 3:30 p.m.