Santa Barbara High School softball team is currently in the middle of their 2023-2024 season. With their brand new head coach, Julie Kittle, and two new other coaches, Gerson Hernandez and Evi Limon-Ngai, they are at a higher level of competitiveness. In an interview with some of the players and the head coach, they were able to answer questions about how their season is going. 

Head Coach Kittle believes that the season is “going great, and [she] was pleasantly surprised about their 6-9 record, and with this being [her] first season at SBHS, [she] wasn’t sure what to expect, but the team surprises [her] every day in the best way possible,” she continued that what she believes makes a good team is, “teamwork and communication are key, because when I first started here we had 13 individuals, but now we are one solid team. Like a workhorse.” The team is currently 7th in league, but with five games left in the season they are hoping to make the playoffs which they are capable of doing. Kittle remarked that “nothing is going wrong that would need improving and I don’t see any real problems. We have three short weeks together and I hope we make the playoffs as a wild card team.” The biggest challenge for Kittle is “gaining respect from the other programs in our league, due to us always being the underdog team.” However, the coach at Bishop recently told Noozhawk that “It’s cool to see where SB’s program has come from and where they are now,” and continued, “We’re going to learn some perseverance and some resiliency from [our game against Santa Barbara],” after Santa Barbara’s 11-1 win over Bishop on April 5.

Team Captain Alina Magdaleno believes “we will have an even stronger team next year, because people will be coming back stronger and better, also a lot of new people will be joining.” Magdaleno continued that the key to ending a losing streak was that the team “all came together and stepped up as a team, we had great communication and we are all getting along.”

Olivia Ressler has been one of the strongest hitters this season with a recent home run in a game against Nordoff. She feels the team has improved their hitting by “not swinging at everything and instead watching the balls go by instead. The team is more confident in the box and everyone has had their shining moment this season.”

Madison Benedict is the pitcher for the team who feels her pitching this season has been “improving since last year, especially as a fielding pitcher.” Her entire team agrees that her ability to throw a pitch and immediately field the hit off of it is impressive, and her confidence level is rising. The work she put in all summer on her throws is evident during games.

Their next game is against Pacifica on the 18th at home where they hope to grab a win. 

Be sure to go and support your fellow Dons!

The varsity softball team Image Courtesy of Dons softball